Gaara Sakura: Leaf & Sand's Alliance
by LoveAnime5891
Summary: Gaara, Sakura and their friends have been making preparations for the Fourth Ninja War that is about to begin. They will be facing many hardships, but mostly thoughts and feelings will be showing. Not only they've discovered Madara being their enemy, but even a close friend...
1. A SHORT NOTICE!

NOTE: Before you read this story, the events will be written in my own words since I do not want to have a copyright on this story. I might as well have to re-writing the dialogues in every GaaSaku stories I've published.

There are no copyright reports happened to me yet. So hopefully, I will try to avoid trouble from taking the dialogues from the manga and write better ones.

In addition, there will be several plot twists in the story for you to read, so keep your headbands tight and ready to kick some ninja ass. Thanks! :)


	2. Gatherings

**Hey, guys! I'm back again with another new story of GaaSaku and I'll be writing more chapters as much as possible, especially AMVs. **

**Anyways, please read & review!**

* * *

Somewhere around the forest lies ahead of two most common enemies, where the rest of the leaf shinobi are under the investigation of Madara and Kabuto. They eventually found out that the two of them had released the dead bodies of the Akatsuki and had resurrected them. However, none of them were certain of the fact that they are able to track them down. Mitarashi started to wonder if Kabuto was intentionally trying to lead her and the rest of the squad to Madara's base. Instead, she informed the others to retreat and remind everyone about the threat that will inflict upon them.

During that time, Naruto has been visiting the Paradise Island to gather information from the Great Frog Sage's prophecy where he will encounter an octopus. Then, he teleported back on his own spot at the Ramen place until two of the leaf jounin were asking for his autograph after he became famous for saving the leaf village.

Meanwhile, the Five Kage were in a conference meeting at the Hidden Cloud, discussing about their plans for the upcoming war. They were all surprised and glad that Tsunade's recovery had healed quickly, yet Onoki suddenly pointed out that she needs to go for early retirement. How ironic that he himself is old as well.

"Alright, everyone. Quiet down. Let's all focus on the issue at hand," Mifune cleared his throat for them to draw their attention on him. "As you all know, the Eight and Nine-Tail's hosts are in danger."

"According to one of my teams, they've recently discovered the enemy's location, however, it seems that it may be an ambush," Tsunade explained sternly.

"My team did the same thing as well and we need to share everything that we know to the whole country," Raikage A suggested.

"Then, we got to form an alliance," Mei pointed out.

"Fine by me. The question is, where should we hide the jinchurikis?" Onoki asked logically.

"What?!" Tsunade questioned in confusion. "But their strength are the only ones we can count on. Why put them in a hiding place?"

"That's what I thought. Unfortunately, the enemy's target is on them. We cannot allow those two to be captured and we've already made that decision," Onoki explained.

"Are you serious right now?! Madara Uchiha is alive and not having Naruto and Killer Bee is basically not standing on a chance of winning the battle," Tsunade protested back strongly.

"Lady Hokage, protecting them from war is the only way. Therefore, we must decide on who agrees on the choice," Gaara said calmly with his hands folded.

"Bah. How would you know? You're a kid. Naruto-" Tsunade didn't get to finish her sentence.

"I know him very well. He sacrifices himself for the sake of his friends," the red-haired Kazekage said quietly.

"Alright. So everyone, we all agreed to be part of the Shinobi Alliance and this will help us win if we continue to fight and protect each other," Mifune instructed firmly.

"Now, we're all settled then," Raikage A said smirking as the others nodded in understanding.

For the time being, Naruto and his group had meet up with Killer Bee and moved onto their training. When he arrives down by the Waterfall of Truth, he began to battle with his dark side of him that left a huge mark on his history.

He knew that he has the same techniques as him when it comes to fighting, whether physical or ninjutsu combat. He wondered to himself if Killer Bee had faced his other half in which, of course, he did. Although, Naruto's past had been tragic and lonely because of the way everyone is perceiving him as a threat or a monster. He never thought that somewhere in his heart that he has hatred and anger. He had felt a long time. But he decided not to be fully consumed by what had happened. He believed that he could change what was part of him, even if he cannot change the past. That was all that he ever did and that was to accept, love, and forgive himself.

Meeting his mother, Kushina was the best thing that ever happened to him and knew that her love for him will never change, just like his father, Minato. His parents will do anything for Naruto and that's what made him to pursue his dream of becoming Hokage.

Later on, down at the River Valley, the water continuously runs down towards the bottom of the ground while some of the birds were flying across the sky. The temperature was definitely warm, yet refreshing for the little animals to go around and scattering.

As for the pink-haired kunoichi, her eyes when she began to concentrate on her chakra. Raising her right knee with her hands holding in a praying position started to form a bright neon green aura that was surrounding her body. Being in her own state made her feel more relaxed and at peace with herself.

"_Edge of the Earth's Quake: Four Corner Stone Lethal Terror," Sakura recited in a low deep tone of her voice in mind. _

Then, she slowly fluttered her eyes, revealing a shining color that matches her aura.

Instantly, the soil and rocks beside her started to burst out immensely up in the air and emerges with one another. The four stones became a gigantic pillars that were stacked in a shape of a square, which initially lights up some sparks of fire and shoots out like volcano eruptions. Eventually, they transformed into hot rocks sizzling against each other.

A few seconds later, they slowly melt away into dry ashes as the pink-haired kunoichi examined her work of progress and panted breathlessly in exhaustion. She carefully dropped on her knees and started to contemplate on the latest event that occurred in her mind.

"You know, sulking while training will not make you prettier anymore," a familiar voice called out chirping behind her.

Sakura began to widen her eyes in startlement as she quickly glanced over her shoulder to see her rival and said. "Ino!"

The white blonde ponytail-haired kunoichi is smirking, whereas her hands on her hips. "I see you've been working hard these past couple of days. You don't want to pressure yourself so much…"

"What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be volunteering for extra duties? No offence, but I'm doing rather much fine," the pink-haired kunoichi said softly with a sigh of dullness.

"I came all the way here to check up on you until I notice that you have small dark circles around your eyes. You're not getting enough sleep, girl," the ponytail kunoichi shook her head in concern as she pursed her lips.

Sakura started to blink her eyes for a moment and queered in confusion. "What are you talking about? I've been sleeping for more than eight hours every night."

Ino chuckled in amusement, then decided to get more serious, saying. "Well, let me show you."

She quickly pulled out a small circular mirror out of her porch and held right in front of her. "Here…"

The pink-haired kunoichi stepped forward and took a closer look at herself. She moved her head back and forth and realized that she exhausted herself further than before. "Oh… you're right."

The ponytail-haired kunoichi gestured her arm and emphasizes a point. "Look, Lady Tsunade is looking for you yesterday and so I had to track you down where you were."

"But how did you find me?" Sakura asked curiously with her one eyebrow raised.

"Hinata," Ino stuck her tongue out and giggled.

"Ugh. The nerve… Anyway, what is it?" Sakura shook her head.

"Well, Lady Tsunade wants to gather every leaf shinobi in our village and discuss a few plans with strategies for the war. She wants all the medical ninjas to do some emergency assistance and will be put in one of the medical camps. Plus, we also have a small meeting with our squad," Ino explained with her hands on her hips.

"I see…" Sakura murmured in a raspy tone.

Ino blinked her eyes for a moment and gazed sadly at her in understanding, saying. "Hey… I know what happened between you and Sasuke didn't end up well. I know that you and Naruto's plan of bringing him back will make all of our lives complete. But aren't we all tired…?"

The pink-haired kunoichi, on the other hand, tilted her head down a little and thought out in a whisper. "Yeah…"

The ponytail kunoichi nodded and question. "Okay… So what's the matter?"

Sakura sighed with her eyes closed and said. "I have this other person in mind…"

Ino asked curiously. "Oh. Is it a new guy or-"

"Girl…" the pink-haired kunoichi hinted quietly and continued on. "She's been giving me those strange looks. I don't know why, but she seems happy when I was there back in the hidden sand village."

"What? Are you sure? For me, I find that a little creepy," Ino raised her eyebrows and clenched her teeth.

Sakura was thinking deeply and agreed. "Yeah…"

"Who is she if I may know?" Ino asked.

"Well, she's with Gaara," the pink-haired kunoichi pointed out.

"Ah… That bitch," Ino grinned sarcastically in annoyance and continued on. "She's always trying to get in the way when I'm talking to other guys and ruins it for me."

"Wait, wait. What?! When did that happen?! How did you two meet?" Sakura shook her head and questioned in puzzlement.

"Oh, silly friend. She happens to stop by for a visit. You know, selling desserts because she has to run a business with her team. But let me tell you, she's only there to gain popular status and boost up her ego. Her cupcakes or any sort probably have poison in them," Ino remarked with her tight fists in indignation. "Argh! I just hate her!"

Sakura's eyes widened in shock and gestured her, saying. "Hey… Calm down for a bit. We don't know her entirely."

"Well, do you…?" Ino retorted back.

The pink-haired kunoichi stood on her spot without answering.

"Exactly…" the ponytail kunoichi huffed with her arms crossed and sighed.

"But Ino, hating on someone will not solve anything, so let's not waste our time there. Although, our gut instincts are telling us something about her and we will find out what it is," Sakura said, nodding in understanding.

"Yep. Definitely," Ino agreed with a smirk.

"Alright. Let's go and head back to the village or else Lady Tsunade will kick my ass," the pink-haired kunoichi rolled her eyes in worry and laughed.

Ino laughed along with her as well and shook her head, saying. "More like triple times a jutsu."

Sakura gasped in surprise with her mouth gape open and nudged her on the shoulder. "Wow… You're so mean."

Ino giggled with a snort. "I'm kidding. She won't. Don't worry."

"If you say so," the pink-haired kunoichi noted.

They continue to make jokes and tease each other as soon as they were walking back side by side together to their hometown.

Later on, the two kunoichis were standing in front of the Hokage's office and wondering what was going on.

"Umm… Am I in trouble or something?" The pink-haired kunoichi raised an eyebrow in question.

Ino leaned over her shoulder and whisper. "I think she's having those mood swings."

"Ahem…" Tsunade cleared her throat to get their attention on her.

The ponytail kunoichi got startled and stood up straight back in her position. "Sorry."

"No, Ino. I'm not having those moods lately. In fact, I'm glad that you brought Sakura back here. So, how are you feeling, my dear?" The fifth Hokage asked concernedly with a genuine smile.

"I'm fine, I guess…" Sakura muttered softly.

"That doesn't seem quite cheerful for me. Did something happen?" Tsunade interrogated further as she slowly gaze towards her friend's direction.

"No, no. Not at all. I'm just-" Sakura didn't get to finish her sentence.

"Over exhaustion from training," Ino concluded.

Tsunade nodded and said. "Ah… I see. You're not worried about that Uchiha boy anymore?"

"Well… I…" the pink-haired kunoichi trailed off of her words.

"It's alright. You don't have to answer that. Anway, before we start discussing the plans for the war, here is a glass of water and medicine for you to take. Shizune," Tsunade called out beside her.

"Yes, ma'am," the short black-haired assistant approaches her student quickly and did what she told her. She hands them over, which the pink-haired kunoichi had taken.

"Thank you," Sakura said quietly and sips down as soon as she took the medication for a couple of seconds.

"Alright. Now, you've been informed that you will be placed in one of the medical camps and take care of any medical assistance for the shinobi specifically. With that further ado, I'm also assigning you and Ino to make a stronghold barrier to protect you and the others. No bypass or any kind of jutsu that will breakthrough. That is to ensure safety precautions. You don't need to worry about the other ninjas, they will handle the job of taking care of the enemies. Do you understand?" Tsunade explained as she was staring at the pink-haired kunoichi firmly.

On the other hand, Sakura nodded in agreement and muttered. "Yes…"

"Good. If one of you disobeyed my orders, you will be faced with the consequences," Tsunade reminded carefully.

"What?!" Ino questioned out loud.

"Wha…? Why?" Sakura asked in suspicion.

"But Lady Tsunade, aren't we supposed to be helping everyone out, regardless of the duties that we have?" Ino recalled back with a protest.

"No… As I've said before, you two will only be in the medical area. No fighting skills is included," the fifth Hokage pointed out strictly, much to Shizune's pity.

"Lady Tsunade, you can't do that-" Sakura argued back.

"Girls! That is final, alright? Do you want to put your lives in danger? Without you or the medical shinobi, no one will survive the war… You have to see the bigger picture here. That is final. No more questions or statements. You may leave now," Tsunade concluded as she gestured them with her hand.

On the contrary, Sakura and Ino were staring at their mentor silently in wonder with their eyes narrowed at her until they followed her instructions and left the office as soon as possible.

"Okay… We understand…" the pink-haired kunoichi murmured, holding back her anger that was stuck in her throat.

Ino didn't say anything when she decided to close her eyes and followed her on the way out after closing the door behind them.

"_Sorry, girls… But it's for the better for both of your beings," Tsunade watched them observantly while she was folding her hands together in thought. _

At around noon, the leaf squad were in a group of circle, thinking and debating about the Five Kage's agreement.

"Ah! You're serious, right? So we are going to be put in the back lines and defeat the enemies as much as we can…? That's a joke to me," Kiba scoffed.

"Jeez. Will you relax? I'm pretty sure that we are considered to be one of the strongest ones out there since we trained a lot these past few years. It's not like they're trying to degrade us by letting us waste a lot of energy and chakra. Haven't you figured out that we deserve a better conservation?" Tenten explained clearly while she was standing with her hand on her waist.

"And what makes you think that way? Why can't they let us decide for ourselves?" Kiba asked in irritation.

"We can't because they specifically tested different strategies on who goes where and who does that. The only option is that we stay behind," Tenten answered.

"If I recall, that seems to be an understatement to all of our capabilities," Shino noted with his arms crossed.

"Pfft. Yep. We are so much beyond that," Choji agreed.

"Perhaps, they are planning something much bigger or it's possible that they are protecting something… Someone," Neji thought out deeply.

"Naruto…" Hinata murmured softly, much to everyone's surprise.

"Huh? What do you mean? They're protecting him because…" Kiba said slowly, but didn't get a clue.

"Ugh. Don't you realize that they're after the Nine-Tails? The Akatsuki's target is Naruto and if they ever capture him and extract the tailed-beast out of his body, then we all fail…" Tenten pointed out as she rolled her eyes at him.

"Yeah… Even after what happened with Gaara. But we're glad that Lady Chio saved his life. Man, that jutsu must be very difficult and risky for a shinobi to handle," Choji said, continuing to munch on the potato chips that he was holding.

Then a few seconds later, the two kunoichis had arrived in the scene, which caught the others' attention on them surprisingly.

"Sakura, Ino…" Hinata stood up from her spot and approached them in concern. "What's wrong?"

"Any news from Lady Tsunade?" Neji asked when he was staring at them.

On the other hand, the pink-haired kunoichi slightly looked down and closed her eyes to hide away her disappointment without saying any word until Ino decided to speak up.

"Yes… She did," she answered.

"What did she say and what is up with the long faces?" Kiba asked curiously.

"Well… Um…" Ino trailed off of her words and gazed away sadly.

"She told us to work in one of the medical camps and not include us to fight in a battlefield," the pink-haired kunoichi answered with a sigh.

"What?!" The others had their eyes widened in shock at the report.

"Why not?" Hinata questioned with a worried look on her face.

"I knew it… It's just going to be like that, huh?" Kiba clenched his teeth in annoyance, whereas Akamaru barked out in response.

"I guess we just have to trust their plan," Shino stated.

"And what if it deteriorates…? Hm? Who's fault is it going to be?" Ino asked logically.

"Yeah. Now, I'm starting to think otherwise about it," Tenten agreed.

"That's true. Though, it will be difficult to convince them since they are in charge of making sure every shinobi from all the countries have a chance to fight. Because let's face it, there's a lot of majorities out there and we have to be responsible on what we are assigned to," Neji explained.

"But that is not fair… We have all the skills that we need and support from the others," Hinata argued.

"I hate to break it to you, but again, that is their decision. It's for all of our sake," Shino said quietly.

"Sakura… What do you think? I know you and you wouldn't agree with them. You probably have a plan on your mind right now," Kiba encouraged, which made Akamaru barked in agreement.

The pink-haired kunoichi tilted her head down with thoughts in her mind and turned her back around, saying. "I'm sorry guys… Maybe Lady Tsunade is right with the decision. But she's not right with one thing."

The others were confused at that moment until she began to face them with a determined look on her face.

"We take an advance. Full speed in high mode. How are we going to call ourselves ninjas if we don't know how to keep this a secret? Next thing they will know is that we will give the Akatsuki a show," Sakura said smirking confidently, much to their excitement.

"Yes!" The rest of the leaf squad responded loud in unison and cheered.

"So what the hell are we waiting for?!" Kiba asked with his eyes lit up.

"Yeah and we don't have to tell Shikamaru about this," Tenten said, nodding firmly.

"But why not?! Isn't he part of our squad?" Choji asked curiously.

"He is, unless he agrees with us," Ino pointed out with a grin and giggled.

"I guess it doesn't hurt to stick with our own plan, then," Neji said smirking.

"Not at all," Shino sighed and chuckled.

"Alright. Let's do it," Sakura said with a smile.

With that being said, they've further discussed the tactics that they were going to use. Though little did they know, a strange white bird was sitting on top of the tree branch listening to every conversation they had and flew all the way back to Sai's arm.

Sai, on the contrary, was walking down the streets of the village and disperse the bird out and transferred into the blank scroll. "Ah… I see. So that's the status…"

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_TO BE CONTINUED..._


	3. Leaf Squad Operation

**Please read & review**

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"If we have four people to eliminate the enemy while the other remaining three are setting up an ambush, then one of us has to take on the leader so that they will not outnumber us," Tenten thought out in suggestion.

"That's probably not going to work," Neji said and continued on. "There are other options besides that plan with the same old tactics."

"I agree. It's best if we come up with our original one, but with better innovative techniques of ours," Shino stated.

"But the question is… how are we going to start?" Kiba wondered in curiosity.

"Hmm. I think we all have to be placed in different sections in the battlefield," Choji pointed out.

"Okay. Though, we are only eight of us here. The other three are missing," Ino reminded.

"That's not going to be an issue anymore," a familiar deep voice called out behind them, which made them glanced around to see who the person is.

"Sai?!" Ino said in surprise.

The ninja artist gazed at them knowingly as he slowly approaches them with the scroll on his right hand.

"What are you doing here?" She asked concernedly.

"I'm here to help you guys," Sai answered simply.

"And you think we will allow that? No thanks, dude. But sooner or later, you're probably going to tattletale about this to Shikamaru and the other leaf jounins. Don't even try," Kiba remarked nastily.

"Ugh. Just shut up, Kiba! I highly doubt that he will turn his back on us. Why else would he came all the way down here just to tell us?" Ino retorted back defensively.

"Listen, I'm not trying to bait all of you to our allies. I'm asking you if I can join your team. I admit, I was eavesdropping on your conversations and I know that is wrong of me. However, I'm willing to help you as long as it takes," Sai explained sternly.

The others were glancing at each other for reassurance of letting him in, which they all nodded in agreement.

"Okay, but first… You have to prove to us that you're not going to make a plan that will flop us out," Tenten pointed out.

"I don't have to prove to you anything. In fact, I've already drawn on this scroll right here," Sai said as he quickly smooths us the paper, holding it in the front for them to see.

Sakura and Hinata's eyes widened in astonishment as they scan their eyes all over the scroll.

"No way… That's so amazing…" the Bykakugan user gasped.

"Yeah. Very well-detailed," the pink-haired kunoichi complimented and looked at him. "Sai… I never thought that you are one of the strategists out there, besides Shikamaru. But this is one hell of an art and more information."

"Thank you. I've already figured out which positions we are going to take and I'll explain to you now," Sai said, clearing his throat and continued on. "Since the rest of us have been put in the back lines, at least four of us must sneak out without letting anyone notice. Of course, we will use the substitution jutsu. That way, if we are capable of attacking those opponents, using our ninjutsu and genjutsu, we will have no problem with the majority of them. But one of us has to face the leader, only who can deflect or counterattack their strikes depending on how much they will trigger.

The four people who are being selected in this scroll is Neji, Shino, Kiba, and Choji since you all have the strongest skills in this battlefield. The other four will be staying in the front. As for me, I will-"

"Whoa, whoa. Hold on! You're not seriously considering this, are you? I mean, what kind of strategist would go up against one of the Akatsuki leaders? Plus, you cannot go alone," Tenten argued.

"Yeah, I mean. That's definitely not going to work and please, don't underestimate a girl's ability to fight back," Ino nodded with her lips pursed.

"Alright then. I suggest that you can take those positions," Sai said thoughtfully.

"Well, the rest of us can defeat the enemies as much as we can. Although, we must not belittle them to the extent and it would be difficult for someone to face the leader alone," Neji pointed out with his arms crossed.

"True true. Maybe three against one. It's like the old saying goes, quantity over quality," Kiba stated arrogantly.

"Haha. No, Kiba. It's quality over quantity. Get real," Tenten said, snickering with her head shaking at his dumbness.

"That's what the wise always say, even if one tries to prove them wrong," Shino quoted deeply.

On the other hand, Sakura stood silently in her spot without responding back to their opinions. She began to worry about the safety of Naruto and the others. Her eyes became dreary as she stared at the ground.

"Hey… You okay?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah, Sakura. You haven't been speaking up right now. This is important," Tenten noted and asks. "Is there something that you would like to say?"

The pink-haired kunoichi looked up to them and said. "What about Naruto? He cannot be hidden the whole time. What if he really wants to take a chance on fighting them? Look, I'm not trying to throw us aside or suggest that we should use him for the benefit of others. What I'm saying is that he needs us just like we need him and it's up to us to take responsibility of saving lives while we fight side by side with him."

"And just how are we going to do that? Lady Tsunade forbid him from joining our alliance," Kiba emphasized with a sigh of tiredness.

"Well, we just have to convince her to change her mind," the pink-haired kunoichi answered.

"Wow, I like the sound of that," Choji nodded with an enthusiastic smile.

"Yup. But I'm a little frightened of her, you know," Ino said, giggling nervously.

"Well, I'm not because Naruto is our friend. He's important and if he wants to fight alongside us, we will do anything to protect him," Sakura stated wholeheartedly as her eyes glistened warmly at the thought of her best friend.

"Yeah… By the way, where is Lee?" Tenten glanced around to check.

"He's with Guy-sensei. Still training," Neji responded.

"Again?! Doesn't he get exhausted?" Tenten questioned in peculiar.

"Nope. I never get exhausted. I believe in perseverance, endurance, and strength. That's the kind of person that I am," a voice called out determinedly with a wide grin.

Everyone turned around to see the leaf ninja in green spandex with surprised looks. "Lee?!"

"Where the fuck did you come from? Yo, I swear if anyone in our squad keeps popping up like that, I'm just going to disapparate into thin air," Kiba swore in panic, whereas Akamaru barked in agreement.

"Chillax! I didn't come all the way here to just to scare you guys. Besides, Guy-sensei had to leave early because he has a meeting with the other leaf jounins," Lee informed with a chuckle and asks in curiosity. "Why? Do I seem scary to you?"

All of a sudden, he started making horrifying faces with his eyes widened like an owl in the night.

"Bitch, don't even do that. I'll Fang Over Fang you with my fists," Kiba rolled his eyes in irritation.

"Guys, stop that. Anyway, let's get back to business, shall we?" Ino said, sighing in boredness.

"Alright. Now that we are even numbers. I guess the guys will be split into two partners. Again, the girls will be sneaking out," Sai repeated the plan.

"I heard ya," Lee said, nodding with a smirk.

"Good. Now, are we all settled with this?" Sai asked for reassurance.

"It seems so," Neji said with his eyes closed.

"Okay. If things don't go the way they plan, then don't worry. We will always have a backup," Sai reminded.

"Agreed. Let's put one of our hands together in the center. We must make an oath that we will not tell anyone about this. This stays between all of us. Understood?" Sakura glanced at them sternly, which they all nodded.

"No secrets or any personal agendas," Ino warned.

"Yeah, yeah. We got it," Choji yawned.

"Ready?!" The pink-haired kunoichi exclaimed.

"Three, two, one! Leaf Squad Force!" They responded in unison out loud as they threw their hands up in the air, making a sign of declaration of the plan that is about to proceed.

"Wooohoo!" They clapped and cheered along as they began to head back to their homes.

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_TO BE CONTINUED..._


	4. Fortune-telling

**Hey, guys! Sorry for the delay. I wanted to take a break and enjoy the summer as much as I can. But since it's August, I've decided to come back and finish writing the rest of the chapters in order to continue writing a new one. **

**Anyway, please read & review! :)**

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During Naruto's visit from the Great Frog Sage, he had recently asked what will happen at the start of the war. The Frog Sage replied to him that one of his closest friends is going to be in grave danger, which he started to question specifically on who it is.

"Huh? I don't understand. Why?" The blonde-haired ninja asked curiously.

"Boy, you know how capable and strong your friend is and she will do anything to protect everyone. There is a power that she will claim and cause a great and thunderous roar throughout the desert and the sea," the Frog Sage predicted.

"You're kidding, right? Wait… Are you talking about one of the tailed beasts?" Naruto guessed out loud with his hand on his right hip while the other hand was holding his chin in peculiar.

"No. Not at all. It's hard to tell since my vision is not so clear, I cannot say…" the Frog Sage yawned deeply.

"Ugh. Alright, whatever," the blonde-haired ninja rolled his eyes in disappointment.

"Once the night is set into a full blood moon, everyone will be in a world of trance," the Frog Sage predicted the second time.

"Huh? What do you mean?!" Naruto queered in suspicion.

"Time is running out, my dear boy. But I guarantee that you and your allies will conquer the worst enemies," the Frog Sage stated.

The blonde-haired ninja stood silently in his spot and gazed at the thought of his squad with his deep thoughts and feelings on what will occur.

"But remember… She will be in danger. You and your friends must do anything to stop that person. And that person will definitely create a lot of chaos because she is living among you… That is my warning," the Frog Sage stated and bowed his head down to rest.

"I see… Thanks for the heads up. I appreciate how much information you're giving me. Anyway, I got to go and tell them about what you said to me. See ya!" Naruto turned his back and waved a gesture at him as soon as he left in a puff of smoke.

On the other hand, the Frog Sage watched him disappear and began to have thoughts about his own vision that he had seen. He decided to observe who the people were and had his eyes widened in shock at the sight of the girl with evil in her eyes.

"_Naruto boy, be careful…" he muttered calmly in mind._

Meanwhile back in the hidden cloud village, the other ninja alliance headquarters were unpacking the boxes and assembling the weapons and other equipment that they will use.

Inside Raikage's tower, the five leaders of the countries were still debating on their own decisions on who should lead the whole alliance and to check their enemy's base.

"I'll do it," Onoki said.

"But Tsuchikage…" Mei trailed off of her words.

"Hmph. Old man, You have no arguments from me," Raikage A noted.

"Indeed, you have the ability to fly and get there quickly," Tsunade agreed.

"Are you certain that you will be alright?" Gaara asked calmly.

"There is nothing to worry, young Kazekage. I'm the greatest fence-sitter inheritor as Tsuchikage," Onoki declared confidently until he started to have pain in his body, which made a bone crack noise, much to his shock. "Ahhh! My hip! That hurts!"

"Perhaps, I'll take consideration. I'm able to arrive there using my sand," Gaara pointed out with a sigh.

"Y-you fool! I told you I'm going, aren't I? Well then, let me take that opportunity, so you better shut your-" Onoki suddenly got interrupted until he cried out achingly.

"If you are willing to participate, I guess I better give you one of the medicines that I have created in a while since you are aging," Tsunade said smiling in amusement.

"Oh, I'm not the only one. Aren't you yourself as well?" Onoki chuckled.

"Yes, of course. But I want to keep myself maintained," Tsunade smirked.

"Agreed on that," Mei said.

"Let's get back to the topic, we must choose a leader who will be responsible to lead the army and it has to be one of us. Listen, I may be reckless with having anger issues at most of the times, but now is the chance to vote who is the right choice for this," Raikage A stated sternly.

Tsunade kept her hands folded together while her elbows were resting on top of the table. She slowly looked at the red-haired Kazekage, saying. "It wouldn't hurt if we pick the very youngest. Even so, the heart has a will of fire."

"No doubt about that," Mei glanced at the boy and nodded in agreement with a genuine smile.

"Hmph. Why not?" Onoki said rhetorically and rolled his eyes in accordance.

"Alright, then," Raikage A breathed through his huge nostrils and acknowledged. Then, he instructed one of his lieutenants on his side. "Create an ambush squad! Then split the rest of the troops into teams and get them into formation!"

"Yes, sir!" The short blonde-haired girl responded firmly.

"And ensure the medics to be properly equipped! Shikaku, work with the intel squads to check their locations!" Tsunade ordered beside him on her right.

"Inform Ao in the Sensor squad about the rest of the details," Mei ordered her assistant.

"Y-yes, ma'am!" Chojuro noted shyly.

"Tsuchikage, we finished these while you were away. Here," Gaara said as he handed over the crest alliance band in front of him.

"Oh! Already?!" Onoki said surprisingly and gladly took it as he carefully examined the object in admiration. "Ah. So that is the symbol. Impressive."

"I made them myself and since you once fought amongst yourselves, you are now all ninjas. True ninjas that will surpass the previous generations and we, Samurais, will join forces with you. Now the time has come!" Mifune announced in determination as he quickly rose up from his seat, which made the rest of the Kages smile in hopes to win the victory over the Akatsuki.

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_TO BE CONTINUED..._


	5. Clarification

**Please read & review!**

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The night before a few days of the fourth ninja war will begin, Sakura and the rest of her friends are preparing their equipment and tools inside their bags. They've been customizing their own outfits that can protect them from being attacked directly.

Lee and Kiba decided to put the bandages around their fists, which will help them fight physically in combat. Alongside with Neji and Hinata, they've trained a lot and developed new techniques of their own using their Byakugan.

Choji, on the other hand, is still struggling with overcoming his sensitivity when it comes to being insulted of his corpulent weight. He definitely cares about his self-esteem and doesn't want anyone or any of his friends to ruin that. Of course, they wouldn't ruin that because they are not those kind of people. Though, they've told him that even if he receives the slightest harsh criticism or words, he must be mentally and emotionally prepared. That was all that they ever wanted.

"I don't understand…" Hinata murmured softly as she gaze off on the grass.

"What is it?" Tenten asked curiously.

"Well, I've heard from the other leaf jounins and the rest of the people in our village have been spreading rumors about the Akatsuki's resurrection… I don't know if that is true or not. But it happened just recently," the purple-haired kunoichi said with a saddened expression look on her face.

"What?! That's bullshit if you asked me," Kiba huffed with his eyes rolled.

"Ugh. What if it is? Then, what? We've got to fight, duh," Tenten pointed out.

"Yeah, it wouldn't be that difficult," Lee agreed.

"Hah! Don't talk as if you're above them all. We don't know what they're capable of, so get a grip," Kiba said laughing in sarcasm with a wide grin, then suddenly became serious.

"If they have resurrected, there's more to what they're planning… Extracting and obtaining the tailed beast from Naruto is not only to make them powerful and destroy the world…" Neji thought out deeply and continued on. "My eyes may not be able to see the entire picture, but my gut instinct is never wrong."

"There is always a bigger reason as to why they're doing it. Other than that, we must be on focus," Shino stated firmly with his hands in his pockets.

The pink-haired kunoichi unfolded her arms away from her chest and approached the group of circle in the middle.

"You're right… We are not just some big kids, studying textbooks and taking tests or quizzes in Ninja Academy school anymore. This is the real thing now, this is our mission. Our goal is to defeat the Akatsuki. But without us having each other, we couldn't call ourselves the leaf squad," Sakura raised her arm and adjusted her black glove on her right hand and made a tight fist, saying in determination. "Without the leaf squad, we are nothing… If we are all together, we can endure the hardships that we'll face sometime soon. Trust me, this will be worth it. This is not about trying hard, this is about willing. We don't earn the will of fire… We are the will of fire, so let's never forget that."

Ino, Hinata, Tenten, and the rest of the boys smiled at her words and nodded in accordance.

"I know I've said a lot and sounded too cheesy, but you know… we are not just classmates… We are friends," the pink-haired kunoichi sighed and continued on with a sad smile. "I don't know what I would do without you guys… Even without Naruto. All I can say is thank you for being here."

"No, thank you, Sakura," Ino smirked in appreciation.

"Yeah, I mean. You and Naruto went through a lot of trouble, attempting to bring Sasuke back," Tenten mentioned in thought.

"On the contrary, we all pretty much suffered as well," Kiba pointed out loud and chuckled.

"What I meant to say is that they're the ones who risked their lives for the most important people. I'm not trying to compare us with them, but they're very tough to fight for someone and something they care about. We all do," Tenten paused for a moment and asks the pink-haired kunoichi quietly. "So Sakura… I want you to be really honest… Do you still have feelings for Sasuke?"

Sakura stood silently on her spot and gazed off into space, whereas the others were looking at her in worry. Then, her eyes began to glisten emotionally at the memories of their encounter.

_FLASHBACK:_

_The pink-haired kunoichi, however, began to heal the wound using the amount of chakra that she has left. She was panting breathlessly and gagged out some blood from her mouth, asking. "Why...? Why Sasuke? I thought you-"_

_"Wouldn't hurt you, kill you... Hmm. You are so naive, Sakura. After these past two years, you are still hoping that I will return back to the leaf village and be back on Team 7 with you and Naruto...? Too late. I've changed and nobody will ever go in my way once I destroy that place that murdered my family, my entire clan..." the dark-haired ninja stated coldly and began to approach her slowly until he stopped and looked down on her._

_"But you said you will never turn your back on us! You promised that after you've completed your revenge, you wouldn't stay on that path anymore-" Sakura reasoned out in sorrow._

_"Just shut up! That is none of your business," Sasuke yelled in rage, much to the pink-haired kunoichi's dismay. Then, he once again performed his usual technique and declared. "You have no right to interfere with my plans, so I will end you right here and now!"_

_As soon as he began to strike her with his Chidori, a leaf jounin delayed his attack from going further when he rapidly slapped his hand away before it reaches the pink-haired kunoichi._

_"He really meant to kill her..." Kakashi guessed correctly while staring heatedly at his former student, saying. "You've really fallen, Sasuke."_

_END OF FLASHBACK_

In the present time, Sakura had her eyes closed for one minute until she reopens them filled with emptiness.

"In all honesty, I haven't really figured out what I feel for him entirely. I do not know if I truly love him or I just love the idea of him being someone I dreamt of… For all we know is that he's been brainwashed ever since he left our village," she explained simply. "He's still my friend and we need to save him from wandering himself lost in darkness."

'You're right. We got to step up and try harder, but like you said. It's more than just a try. It's a will," Lee grinned with his thumbs raised up in the air.

"By the way, just to clarify some things, who are the enemies that we need to confront first. Is it… uh… the Akatsuki? Orochimaru? Sasuke?" Choji asked confusedly in a slight hesitation.

Kiba and Ino snorted at the question simultaneously.

"Duh… It's everyone involved," he said chuckling.

"We are probably going to have to fight the Akatsuki first, then the rest will be up to us, depending on the personal matters we have," Ino answered.

"More practice, more training is what we need to focus on first thing's first," Shino stated.

"I agree," Hinata said with a curt nod.

"Guaranteed," Neji smirked.

"Alrighty, then. I guess that means we're all settled in this proposition," Tenten called out.

"Yes…" Sakura responded with a determined look on her face.

"Okay, then. Let's get going," Kiba said smirking and made a whistle tone as soon as they resumed their work of progress.

On the other hand, the leaf ninja in green spandex was observing the expressions and behavior that Sakura was having at the moment and still remembered what she told him before.

"I know… I know that you're almost finally over with your feelings towards Sasuke. But what about the other one…? I don't know, Sakura… One of my goals right now is to protect you and not let your heart be broken ever again by someone else…" Lee said in mind, then began to walk away to continue his practice.

Later on, he was debating whether he should inform Sai about this issue.

Though, that wouldn't be a good idea or the right thing to do, would it?

* * *

_TO BE CONTINUED..._


	6. Worth The Risk

**Hey, guys. Sorry, it took so long for me to write new chapters. I originally wrote this chapter based on Naruto's point of view towards Kurama and Sakura. No manga-related because copyright will not be tolerated anymore. Just trying to get more creative and more realistic with this. :p**

**Anyways, please read & review!**

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Back in the Great Paradise Island, the blonde-haired ninja continues to run through the course of his training as he calmly focuses on controlling his chakra. With his eyes closed, one of the transformations had appeared on his face while communicating with Kurama. Inside his mind was full of contretemps and sarcasm being thrown towards each other. The red barriers were still locking the beast in without having any limbs to move, except his mouth.

"Grrrr…. You definitely have the guts to order me like that, boy… If your parents didn't come here to save you, I would've taken over your whole human flesh and destroy every single one of your loved ones around you," the nine-tailed fox growled fiercely in anger. "Look what they did to me…"

Naruto stared calmly at him for a moment until he spoke out. "Even if they weren't here, you would still be caged in… I know you still resent everyone… But it doesn't have to be this way, you know?"

Kurama kept glaring hardly at the sight of the boy and said sarcastically in amusement. "You speak wisely, but you're still that kid that causes trouble and commotion in the village. Remember, you painted each of the Hokages' faces in the monument because you love to get everyone's attention on you."

"Yeah? What about it? That's all in the past… It's time for us to reconcile," Naruto stated sternly.

"Reconcile? Hm… You already know what my answer is going to be, my boy," Kurama laughed with a deep growl.

"And that's beside the point of this conversation we're having. You can hate me, you can be angry at me, but I don't... When I first met you, I thought you were someone who needs to be protected, but yeah you were a very snappy little fox who wants to be set free and eat us alive. That would be horrible if it became a fox invasion," Naruto closed his eyes and whistled a tune as he puts his arms behind his head.

"Grrr…! And you're still an annoying brat who keeps making demands just to prove that you're stronger. If anyone, it's me!" Kurama remarked with a loud bark.

The blonde-haired ninja stopped whistling when he opens his eyes to be earnest, saying. "That's because my friends need help. Sasuke and Sakura are the ones who almost died and tried to defend themselves in battle, so without you, I wouldn't mean anything to them… Without you giving me your power, my life wouldn't be the same without them. Of course, you are stronger. That is why I've asked you."

Kurama rolled his eyes and sighed in irritation, chuckling nonchalantly. "Don't make me laugh. We both know that you only want to use me when you're in a crisis. I'm nothing but a tool. I know for a fact that I meant nothing to you…"

Naruto narrowed his eyes at him and argued defensively. "What makes you think that way? I guess you don't know what I feel towards you. You're wrong."

"Am I? I'm never wrong. You, of all people, have the desire to use power and rule all over the world, just to corrupt. To corrupt means to abuse, to kill, and to thirst. That is what humans are… Wickedness and evil are born in their hearts," Kurama stated.

The blonde-haired ninja stared at him and said in distraught. "They are not… They were created and it all comes down to a choice of what is right and wrong. We have free will to choose-"

"Be quiet! You know nothing of this world!" Kurama snapped back angrily and continued on. "If only you knew the history of shinobi, you would be able to understand the outcomes of this chaos. You, humans, are all to blame for the mess."

Naruto clenched his teeth and fist, trying to hold back his temper. He breathes out slowly, then turns his back around with his head tilted down forward with a soft mutter. "If you say so…"

Kurama looked at him blankly in puzzlement without saying any word.

"Listen, I came here just to settle our differences. If that's not enough good reason, then I would absolutely find out why you are still filled with hate. This is not over yet… I'll come back as soon as I see for myself, as soon as I know what you were talking about. This doesn't mean to prove you wrong, but to confirm what is true… Anyways, I'll see you later," the blonde-haired ninja murmured quietly and started to walk away from the gate that Kurama was locked in.

At that moment, he woke up from his state and noticed Yamato looking at him observantly.

"So, how did it go?" The leaf jounin asked in curiosity.

Naruto shrugged off with a tired look and answered monotonously. "It's fine."

"That's all? It's 'fine' you say?" Yamato queered in speculation and continued to ask further. "I've never seen you become so serious before. Something must've happened with you and your nine-tailed fox. You two had quarreled, eh?"

"Yeah, well it's the last thing I should worry about. Besides, he still resents me and everyone else… I just don't know how I could find a way to solve his problem and how he became that way… To me, he's not a monster as to what they all see in him. To me, he's still a friend. He gave me his power because I know he still has a good heart. He may not want to admit it to himself because of pride," Naruto explained deeply as he gazed softly on the grass.

Yamato nodded in understanding and smiled. "Well, you're doing a great job at keeping it together. Don't give up on Kurama, just like you don't give up on Sasuke, alright?"

"Yeah, thanks…" the blonde-haired ninja chuckled sadly and looked away, then he began to lay down to take a rest.

"Okay, I'll leave you here to make sure you relax. Lunch will be served in a few minutes," Yamato reminded chirpily and patted him on the shoulder as soon as he started to leave him alone.

Naruto sighed deeply while looking up at the sky in a slight desolation. Recalling back a few of his memories with Sakura had his mind drifted on his feelings towards her.

A few years ago, he fell in love with her at the first time he saw her back at the Ninja Academy and all he ever wanted was to be friends with her. Since then, he noticed that Sakura's crush was none other than Sasuke. It was very obvious that the entire school was filled with screaming little fangirls going after him and even fawning dramatically, whereas some of the boys were suddenly envying the Uchiha because of how much he fights well and mastering the basic jutsu and weapons. Everyone adored him and there was no sudden hate being thrown directly at him, despite other people's jealousy.

That is why Sakura was still in love with him, no matter how much pain he caused her and the others. She was able to forgive him easily. However, her love for Sasuke was not the kind of love that she deserves. It was toxic. Surely, she wouldn't notice the Uchiha's cold behavior he has towards her, yet she still goes after him and would take risks.

Naruto would do the same because that is what friendship is all about. But what about love? How would he know about his love for Sakura is unfeigned?

The promise he swore to keep it has been changed. He still remembered what he told her, but since it was between him and Sasuke, he decided to make it a personal matter.

Yet, Naruto is still in the midst of his contemplation in mind of what he thinks about Sakura. What is she to him?

_FIRST FLASHBACK:_

_"I miss... him, you know," the pink-haired kunoichi said quietly and continued on. "It's been two years since he left all of us. I've kept wondering to myself when will he come back... Yet, I'm pushing myself forward to move on from him as much as possible. Throughout those months, I became lost with myself. I was trying to connect with my inner self and I've noticed that deep within me... I've lost my other voice. I've forgotten who I was until we went on a mission together at the hidden sand village... That's where I've finally got the chance to meet her again and to come back to me. Not just to fill that emptiness in my heart, but to fill both of us with more love... That's when I've realized that I was looking for something in the wrong person. I've realized that I should be looking something more inside myself... That is her. That is me... I still don't know the answer as to why I'm still in love with Sasuke... Why am I still holding onto him if he never really cared about me in the first place?"_

_Naruto was staring at her intensely and muttered. "I don't know, Sakura... I'm sorry. But I can help you get through this... I promise." He then gently holds her right hand with comfort and continued on to describe a few things. "Sasuke is already fallen into darkness and it doesn't stop us from reaching out to him because he is still our friend... If Itachi didn't kill his own entire family, then Sasuke wouldn't have chosen to this kind of path that he's in."_

_Sakura was holding her tears back and sniffed out, saying. "Yeah. As the others said, everything happens for a reason."_

_"But we will know what that reason is... So, let's make a promise together that no matter how life is going to turn out, we stick together, and-" the blonde-haired ninja said firmly._

_"We fight together," the pink-haired kunoichi stated._

_"As long as we protect each other," they both concluded in unison as they stood in silence._

_END OF FLASHBACK_

_SECOND FLASHBACK:_

_Naruto spoke out weakly while gazing down at the soft blankets. "Sakura... I'm sorry..."_

_The pink-haired kunoichi watched him for a second blankly, then bluntly shrugged it off by questioning with a beam. "Why are you apologizing?" She walked over to the window and opens the curtains wide open and continued on to hide her sadness. "You look really weird! You're just like a mummy, aren't you?"_

_"I... I'm sorry..." the blonde-haired ninja muttered faintly._

_"Listen, the weather's good today. I opened them, now-" the pink-haired kunoichi was cut off by him._

_"Sakura! I'll definitely keep my promise! I said that it was a lifelong promise! Always," Naruto assured her sincerely._

_"It's alright..." she said simply._

_END OF THE SECOND FLASHBACK_

_THIRD FLASHBACK:_

_The pink-haired kunoichi approached him slowly and punched his head, saying. "You idiot!"_

_The blonde-haired ninja, on the other hand, stumbled off until she embraced him with her arms wide open and leaned against his right shoulder with a soft whisper. "Thank you… for saving everyone in the village…"_

_Naruto's heart was beating so fast that he could hardly move and felt so many butterflies in his stomach. He didn't care what everyone else was thinking when they saw them hugging each other. Right now, he was relieved and happy that she hugged him lovingly for the first time. The fact that he was being acknowledged by her and their friends._

_As soon as she let go of him, she smiled warmly at him and said. "I owe you my life, Naruto. You're becoming stronger every moment that you have strived for."_

_"__Hmm. Thank you…" the blonde-haired ninja said shyly and grinned widely._

_END OF THE THIRD FLASHBACK_

_FINAL FLASHBACK:_

_"__Listen, Sakura. It's best if you do not go after Sasuke because let's face it, he's not the person that you can go and fight off," Naruto pointed out with his feeling of stress._

_"__Why not? You went after Sasuke one time at the Valley of the End. What makes it so different when it comes to me? I know what I'm capable of and I know what I'm going to do to bring him back," the pink-haired kunoichi argued._

_"__And just how are you going to do that? Hm…? Just think carefully, the person that you're still in love with is not the same person anymore. I cannot change your feelings, but as a friend, I do care about your safety and well-being," Naruto sighed tiredly._

_"__That's the problem. I'm always being taken care of. I want to take action. I want to do something to change that," Sakura said in concern and continued on when she started to turn her back on him and looked down on the village area. "Sasuke is not only a friend… He's someone that I love so much that it hurts me to see him what he is now."_

_"__You love him, but does he love you…?" The blonde-haired ninja asked quietly when he looked away, trying to hold back his annoyance._

_"__Does it matter? Haven't you ever thought of not giving up on someone so important to you?" Sakura asked in irritation as soon as she turned around and snapped at him._

_"__Haven't you ever thought of moving on?" Naruto questioned logically as his eyes stared directly at her in all seriousness._

_Sakura looked at him with no words to speak at all, which she knew that she had to face what was coming for her._

_END OF THE FINAL FLASHBACK_

In the present time, the blonde-haired ninja opened his eyes after he started to realize that Sakura was not the kind of girl that she is for him, but she is a dear friend.

"Now I know…" Naruto muttered softly and raised his right hand up in the air, saying in determination. "I'll still protect you… I promise…"

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_TO BE CONTINUED..._


	7. Words of The Kazekage

**Hey, guys. I know I haven't been back to writing and finish this chapter. But since I want to remind you that the GaaSaku is halfway close to the end of the story. I will be writing three more stories and it will take some time for me to complete each one of them.**

**Anyway, please read & review!**

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The next morning in the hidden sand village, the rest of the shinobi were gathered in every four different parts of the area, whereas the leaders were assigned to be responsible for each of their own teams. The ambush squad leader happens to be Kankuro since he is skilled in handling traps towards their enemies while the other leaders like Shizune, Inoichi, and Ao are considered to manage the others using their medical, intel, and sensor abilities. Yet, there are some people who are certainly not ready to fight in a war that they are just about to enter.

"Um... Who is our captain?" Tenten asked as she was standing beside her teammates in the first squad mid-range fighter division.

"That sleepy-loo guy over there," said Choji's dad.

"I'm... I'm kind of nervous though," Hinata said in concern.

"Hmph! This war is going to be a cinch!"

"Ugh, I can't believe my dad is a captain..."

On the other hand, Lee and Sakura contemplating whether they should proceed to their own plan or not. However, they cannot move until the ninja alliance commander has finished making his important announcement. The leaf ninja continued to stare at the middle of everyone who was lined up in every single line, then began to speak quietly beside her.

"Are you sure you're ready for this? Because if not, then it's okay to just go along with the plan that we are about to follow. I don't know how much we are going to risk our positions to fight the Akatsuki," He said thoughtfully in concern.

The pink-haired kunoichi blinked her eyes for a moment and said. "I am ready. But this is our only chance to protect everyone, to protect Naruto..."

"Sakura... We can't do this all alone, you know. That is why the rest of the shinobi are here. They're taking this opportunity just as we do, so let's give this to them," Lee pointed out as he glanced at her.

"I know... However, this time... It's my choice..." the pink-haired kunoichi muttered softly as her eyes became saddened at the thought of her loved ones.

Lee stared at her and couldn't help but feel sorry for what she has to go through. He understood this by saying. "Alright... If you don't want to back out, I'm not going to force you. But don't forget, our squad is here to help and fight."

"Agreed," Sakura nodded with a faltered smile and kept her head up formally.

Meanwhile, the others were waiting in the line as they decided to talk amongst themselves since they cannot interact with other groups of people who will mostly tell their leaders what they are up to.

"I'd better eat up now while I've got a chance. Otherwise, I'll be starving to death," Choji murmured to himself quietly as he was eagerly munching on potato chips he was currently holding.

"So your brother is our Squad leader, but also a commander-general. That's a huge role he's got out there. This task is a pain in the ass... Jeez," Shikamaru pointed out dully.

"You maybe like one, but you're the one in charge. So quit whining, will you?" Temari lectured beside him.

"Yo, if I make a name for myself in this war, I can become a Hokage!" Kiba said smirking arrogantly while he was rubbing under his nose.

"Dumbass, you think this war is easy, eh?!" Sai remarked in annoyance.

"We must not do anything to draw attention to ourselves. Remember... It's either we go with our plan or we don't. But we got to wait for their signal," Shino said sternly.

"Yeah, plus this is our moment to prove to ourselves..." Ino reminded as she breathes out anxiously.

"What, that we're heroes and going to save the day?" Kiba guessed.

"Somewhat. But that is not the point, though. There is so much more to what we are," Ino rolled her eyes.

"Actually, that is the point. Oh well, whatever you say," Kiba chuckled, whereas Akamaru barked out in response.

At that time, Lee recalled back from his conversation with Sakura.

_FLASHBACK:_

_During the evening stroll on the bridge where the water was peacefully running through the river, the two close friends were discussing the issues that was bothering them._

_"All my life... I considered myself to be weak and stupid. These last couple of years, I've been trying to find out who I was as a ninja," Sakura said deeply._

_"Did you find yourself already?" Lee asked curiously._

_"So far... I did. But I'm not entirely sure if I'm the new kind of person now... I still feel like something else is missing," the pink-haired kunoichi said._

_"What is?" The green leaf ninja asked further._

_"That's the question... What is missing? Anyway, we'll talk about this with them shortly and briefly about what needs to be prioritized first," Sakura informed._

_END OF FLASHBACK_

In the present time, Lee sighed and breathed lit through his nostrils with a calm posture. He was starting to speculate the feelings that she was experiencing. As he said before, he vowed to protect her from anyone that betrays her or goes against her.

Before he was going to speak, a sudden commotion was becoming louder for most people to hear and witness what was happening in front of them. He noticed that two ninjas from two different villages was currently having a heated argument, which caught some people's attention towards them.

"Hmph! How am I supposed to know?! We were not enemies that long ago! In fact, I'm starting to doubt you all," one of the ninjas yelled angrily.

"Yeah? Well, I don't exactly trust you guys, either, so just watch your mouth!" The other ninja warned out loud.

"Nobody seems to trust each other," Hinata said sadly.

"It's no surprise. Of course, we are all expected to work together, but again, there is some history that is unforgettable for others like the Sand and the Stone," Neji stated.

At that moment, the two ninjas began to throw punches at each other, much to the others' disappointment and shock.

"What did you say?! You want a piece of me, you little shit?!" The sand ninja fumed.

"Yeah! Your village killed my dad, so maybe I'll just kill you now!" The stone ninja remarked nastily.

"Hey! Quit it!" One of the shinobi was preventing them to stop fighting, but none of them were listening until the sand appeared in front of them, causing them to halt abruptly.

Both of them moved back and stood frozen in their spot when the red-haired Kazekage began to speak up.

"In these wars, each country and village fought for their own gain as ninjas resent and hurt each other. I, too, used to be a host, an embodiment of hatred and power. That hatred grew a lust for power, giving birth to me..." Gaara paused for a moment as everyone was looking up and listening to him intently. Then, he continued on by sincerely saying. "I hated everyone... and I wanted to destroy the world because I once had a tailed-beast inside me. Nobody ever talked to me or befriended me because they saw me as a monster. A monster who lives and kills people... I was alone and for those years, I cannot imagine myself being stuck in the same old path that I was in. I was in such a dark place at that time until I met a certain someone when I was six... She was the one who saved me. She was my only friend. Then, I also met another as well... These two people were my enemies, but they cried for me. Even though, I hurt them... They still called me a friend... They saved me and I couldn't ever be so grateful for them. Now, the Akatsuki is still after one last tailed beast... No... He's after Naruto. My friend. Look, there are no enemies here because we have all suffered in their hands. There is no sand, no stone, no leaf, no mist, and no clouds... We are all shinobi. We are capable of fighting for justice, peace, and happiness. If you still cannot forgive the sand, then once the war is over, you can take my head. If the enemy captures him, the world will be doomed. I want to protect him and the world. But I cannot do this all alone without you. So please... lend me your strength!"

"Yaahh! Of course, we will, sir Kazekage!" One of the sand shinobi cheered gleefully at him.

"Sorry about that," the other sand ninja apologized to the guy he fought with.

"Yeah, same here. It's fine," the cloud ninja said briefly.

Matsuri and the rest of his friends were fangirling and squealing in delight after hearing his speech. "Gaara! You're so cool!"

_"Yeah... My brother is definitely amazing," Temari said proudly in mind of seeing his brother as their leader._

"If you stand with me, then follow me!" The red-haired Kazekage concluded as he opened his arms wide in determination, whereas everyone else cried out in agreement eagerly.

On the other hand, the pink-haired kunoichi pulled her dark green hood up to hide her face as one of her tears fell down on her cheek and gladly smiled at her friend.

_"Gaara... I'm very happy for you... You've grown so much and now you are here to lead us to fight for what we deserve," Sakura said joyfully in mind and remembered what she needed to do. "I'm sorry, but I need to do this, not only for my sake but for yours and everyone else's..."_

Then, she glanced at Lee and gave him a curt nod as a signal for them to proceed.

"You sure?!" He asked anxiously.

"Yes... I'm ready and it's time to move along with our plan," Sakura informed firmly.

"Alrighty, I'm excited but kind of nervous about doing this whole thing," Lee chuckled.

"I know. That is why we are ninjas. This is our ninja way..." the pink-haired kunoichi quoted boldly.

"Right. Let's go!" Lee whispered as he activated a tiny green ball that lights up on his wristband, which alerts the rest of their squad. All of them felt a vibration as they noticed that they need to go right away and leave their clones to stay in their positions.

Kiba looked down on his wrist and chuckled with a smirk on his face. "Hahah. It's time to kick some ass."

"Yeah, we're going to roll this," Ino giggled.

"Woohoo! I'm ready to have some fun!" Choji pumped up his fist enthusiastically.

"Alright," Sai said monotonously.

Shino didn't say anything as he was preparing to gather all of his insects around him.

"Looks like it's about time," Tenten said as she breathes out nervously.

"Absolutely," Neji nodded.

"Hmm..." Hinata smiled and doesn't want to feel too overwhelmed since she practiced and trained a lot these past few years in her life.

As soon as everyone was heading out, the pink-haired kunoichi's eyes became more daring as she and the others know when and where they are about to take action.

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_TO BE CONTINUED..._


	8. Akatsuki's Disturbance

**Hey, guys. I've been emotionally drained and exhausted. But thankfully, I didn't give up right away. Sorry again for this delay and I know I should've been focusing on this more than my own little problems. Aside from that, I'm also planning to write Fairy Tail and other anime stories. Anyway, please read & review!**

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Somewhere in the middle of the forest is where the enemy lies among the trees, holding his own victim at the grasp of his snake hands. Even so, he has been staying quiet and hidden, so that the others would not be able to capture him right away.

Though, the rest of the jounins were given the order to find his whereabouts. The first squad began to separate from the other groups to use their abilities against their opponent.

Aside from that, Sakura and her friends decided to follow them while they are getting rid of their traces behind them. Leaving the footsteps or scents will somehow attract more enemies, which is certainly not a good idea.

They continued to hop onto different branches of the trees and was careful enough not to stumble on the fragile ones.

"Jeez… I can't believe we're all doing this. I'm literally freaking out," Tenten said, gritting her teeth nervously.

"I'm not. This is such a hype for me," Kiba chuckled coolly.

"Of course. Anyway, don't forget we all have to split up into two groups," Sai reminded firmly.

"Hmm, you got it," Choji smiles cheekily.

"Guys, I think Gaara and his group are halfway arriving at the enemy's destination, which means that they will be battling against them," Neji informed quickly while he was using his Byakugan.

"No fucking way. That can't be right," Kiba cursed under his breath.

"Um, I'm pretty sure it is correct because that's part of our alliance's plan," Ino noted.

"But what about our plan? We can't interfere, then…" Choji pointed out as his eyebrows furrowed in worry.

"That is fine. Wait… I want to know who is in Gaara's squad, though. After all, we created our own replacements to fill up our spots in each section," Sai thought out loud.

"Well, there is Temari and then the others…" Shino replied back.

"Hmm. I see," Sai nodded in understanding and continued on. "We can avoid them because we do not want to get involved. If anyone opposes, please let me know."

On the other hand, the pink-haired kunoichi tilted her head down as she began to think about the red-haired Kazekage with an unsettling expression on her face, whereas Lee took a little glance at her.

"Hey… He's going to be fine. He's very strong," he murmured softly with a reassuring smile.

"Right," Sakura agreed with a sigh deeply and kept her head up high.

Later on, Kankuro and his squad had recently defeated Sasori and Deidara using his two puppet cages that stabbed them with huge sharp needles. He was shocked when Sasori decided to pass down the puppets of his parents as a way of honoring his victory, whereas Deidara slightly feels annoyed by the fact that his teammate is starting to disappear into pieces.

Meanwhile, near the bottom pit of the ground, Tobi and Kabuto were discussing the schemes that they planned to do. Most likely, they were debating whether they should kill the unconscious leaf jounin, Anko or not. Yet, Kabuto says otherwise since she still has the chakra remainings in her body to be extracted out and use it to strengthen himself. Nevertheless, he will be able to control of Edo Tensei technique.

"Today's friend is tomorrow's enemy. The more advantages you have, the more I am in danger of being at a disadvantage," Tobi stated.

"It appears you still don't trust me. What would you have me do then?" Kabuto asked sternly.

"Prove to me that Edo Tensei really requires living bodies or else… Tell me everything about the jutsu, including how to stop it, of course," Tobi pointed out.

"And if I say no?" Kabuto questioned with his eyes narrowed.

"Not only will you not get what you wanted, but the only thing you'll be wanting is your life!" Tobi warned strictly, much to Kabuto's no surprise.

"All right. But I have no one for the sacrifice. I told you, I can't use this woman," he said.

"Well then, here you go," Tobi summoned two of Danzo's men and they decided to turn them into a vessel of the dead, which was part of the Edo Tensei ritual ceremony.

After the battle had ended between Kakashi's squad division and the enemies that they've encountered, he looked back onto the dead bodies of Haku and Zabuza who now experienced their second death. The others were still shocked that the white Zetsu had clutched onto Neji's body to suck out of his chakra until he was released immediately by the Gentle Fist Full Body Offensive technique.

Unfortunately, even if one dies, multiple ones suddenly emerge above the surface, much to the clone of Kiba's annoyance.

"Fuck! There's no end to these freaks!" He yelled out nastily.

"Stop complaining, just keep moving!" Neji commanded back.

"What the-?! They are obstinate! If this keeps up, it will be a way of attrition!" Shino said in astonishment, yet was calm enough about it.

"Captain Kitsuchi! There's a word from headquarters! Thousands of enemies passed underground!" One of the jounins informed loudly.

"Dad!" Kurotsuchi called in a panic.

"Shut up! I know that!" He yelled.

At that time, one of the Kages was resurrected back to life and noticed the ninja he was about to fight.

"A sand… A touch perception skill, huh? What a praise-worthy shinobi to have caught Muu, the second Tsuchikage," he stated impressively underneath his white bandaged mask.

"They're coming…" the red-haired Kazekage said with his arms crossed in determination.

But he did not know that the enemy is being controlled as one of Kabuto's puppets.

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_TO BE CONTINUED..._


	9. The Siblings' Bet

**Please read review!**

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As the previous Kages resurrected and were talking amongst themselves, the fourth Kazekage couldn't help but sense a familiar chakra and presence nearby, especially with the majority of the shinobi in the squad division.

"I'm hearing your exploits from the previous age. In our era, the second Hokage was already dead, but there was another one who could use this technique, Edo Tensei. I believe it's Orochimaru," he said with his eyebrows narrowing sternly as he crossed his arms.

The red-haired Kazekage who was still observing the opponents in a far distance said quietly. "One of them is my father..."

He then raised his right hand with a wave gesture without looking back down at his allies.

"Though, the HQ did not contact us, what the hell is happening?" Shikamaru questioned in confusion.

"It is a signal that the enemy is coming," Temari stated as she placed her right hand on her hip.

"Are there guys that even the HQ can't detect? After all, only the strong guys returned to life," Shikamaru asked in peculiar.

"W-what should we do? I-I'm getting scared!" Choji said panicking.

"We will just have to contact the others about this," Shikamaru noted when Temari nodded in agreement.

On the contrary, the four previous Kages were still arguing on who they want to battle with.

"There are times that my body doesn't do what I want and there are restrictions on certain behaviors," the second Tsuchikage said.

"Ah. So it seems… I would feel like I would want to kill you, but my body won't listen to me," the second Mizukage sighed.

"I wanted to try fighting with you two but I really lost my hopes," the third Raikage stated as he glanced at them.

The fourth Kazekage suddenly noticed an eyeball was watching them very closely, which he figured out that it was Gaara.

During that moment, the ambush squad have decided to join in with Kakashi's since they have defeated the two Akatsuki members recently. The pink-haired kunoichi was having a conversation with a few of the medical ninjas, whereas Kankuro and Lee were looking at her composedly as they began to speculate the current condition she is in. Seemingly, they have guessed that she is finally in a good progression of moving on.

"So it looks like she's taking this very well, I see," the purple-faced ninja smirked.

"Umm… sure, if you say so," the green leaf quirked an eyebrow reluctantly.

"Pfft. You know, I was being sarcastic. I know that she is still going through some phases right now. Given the fact that she is accepting what is already happening," Kankuro stated.

"Aren't we all? I mean, how certain are you? We don't know if she did or not. But from what she told me…" Lee paused for a moment before he choked and realized that the pink-haired kunoichi told him not to say anything to anyone.

_FLASHBACK:_

_"I've never open up to somebody like this, not even to Naruto, our friends, or you… For now, I want you to keep this a secret. I trust you on this," Sakura sighed with nervousness and stared at him hopefully. "Promise me you will keep your word?"_

_Lee stood in his spot frozen as his eyes were glistening intensely, but kept a strong look towards her, saying. "Alright. But Sakura… If there's a possibility or the slightest chance at the exact time, I won't be able to hold myself back."_

_The pink-haired kunoichi breathed out and nodded silently in understanding with her lips pursed. "Okay…" She looked down on her feet, then back up again carefully to stop fidgeting anxiously._

_The green leaf ninja took notice of this and gently placed his hands upon her shoulders. "Hey… Don't worry what's going to happen. We're all in this together, remember?" He smiled brightly with his teeth shining, which Sakura giggled softly at his enthusiasm and positivity that he brings towards her and their friends._

_She was very thankful that he was there by her side other than Naruto. That was the time when she started to realize that even if Sasuke didn't love her mutually, she still has a few people who care about her._

_END OF FLASHBACK_

In the present time, Lee thinned his lips and rubbed the back of his head when he started to laugh awkwardly.

"Hahahaha… She said not to worry so much…" he said.

However, Kankuro was not entirely convinced when he knew that Lee was hiding something. He stared at him warily and chuckled. "I'm guessing she told you not to tell anyone."

Lee pretended to be dumbfounded and asked. "Hmm? What do you mean?"

"Oh, please. Cut the crap, will you? I know that you and Sakura made a promise to each other. Correct?" Kankuro rolled his eyes at him and shook his head.

"Okay, okay… So what if we did? It doesn't concern you," Lee pointed out.

"Dude. It does. Sakura has been part of our whole lives, even as kids back then. You can't tell me that I have no right. I'm her friend as well, including Temari. She only wants her to be happy. Right after Gaara started dating Katsumi, there was some tension going on with them and Sakura. But we don't know for sure if what we assume is right," Kankuro explained.

"Assumption are not always the answers," Lee quoted.

"Hm. I figured. Let me tell you. A couple of weeks ago, Temari and I usually sat on the balcony and have deep conversations about anything or anyone rather. But this time… The two of us made a bet," Kankuro said quietly as his eyes became squinted.

"Oh?! What bet?" Lee took a sudden curiosity of this as he faced himself forward.

"If I tell you, you gotta keep your mouth shut before this war is over, right?" Kankuro interrogated.

"Of course. I'm keeping all of your secrets," Lee nodded in understanding.

"Good. Temari and I decided to make a bet about the relationship between Gaara and Katsumi…" Kankuro smirked.

"Wait what?! Why?!" Lee's voice raised up.

"Shh! Dude! You don't want others to eavesdrop on us," Kankuro glanced around to see if anyone was looking at them suspiciously, then he quickly turned back to look at him. "Okay… Lately, my sister and I had been sensing the apprehension that the two were recently having."

Lee nodded at this when he was listening carefully to what he was explaining.

_SECOND FLASHBACK:_

_It was past midnight where everyone in the village was heading off to sleep and go home after work. The full moon was showing tremendously in sight and lits up right before their eyes and across the balcony that they were sitting upon the railing. They drank cups of green tea after eating their dinner and waving gestures down at the young couple taking a stroll together. Both of the siblings were smiling at Gaara and Katsumi who suddenly took a right turn to spend their quality time somewhere else._

_Kankuro and Temari quickly faltered their smiles and shook their heads dismissively in annoyance._

_"Ugh… Can't stand it anymore. I can barely see the world the same way. Just look at it," the purple-faced ninja made a puking action and covers his eyes dramatically._

_The blonde pony-tailed kunoichi rolled her eyes and chuckled. "It can't be that bad. Besides, at least our little brother is happy. He finally found someone who loves him dearly and we both want what's best for him."_

_Kankuro, on the other hand, sighed in exaggeration and said. "Temari, I know that. But what about Sakura? She's our friend right? After she left… she doesn't seem to be okay."_

_Temari looked at him and nodded quietly with a frown on her face. "Yeah."_

_"Then?" Kankuro expected her to speak out._

_"Then, we shouldn't worry too much. Why not just let it be?" Temari stated._

_The purple-faced ninja became exasperated and looks up in the sky hopelessly. "You're right. But we can still make a bet."_

_"No way I'm doing that. I might end up losing my money to you," the blonde pony-tailed kunoichi shook her head in disbelief._

_"What's the matter? You're not going to chicken out, are you?" Kankuro smirked slyly._

_Temari narrowed her eyes at him annoyingly and said. "Don't test me."_

_"I'm not!" Kankuro puts his hands up defensively and continued on sternly. "Come on, this will be our last time doing this. Heck, you even won a lot of games that we've played before."_

_"Yeah, because they were easy. Anyway, let's get this on, shall we?" Temari's eyes became daring with a confident smirk on her face._

_"Oh no… I'm backing out," Kankuro shook his head and was horrified when he noticed that she was determined to win the challenge._

_"Ah ah ah. No, bro. You can't. You want a bet, right? So let's start. I'm betting that Gaara and Katsumi will end up together and get happily married. If it turns out to be right, then I win the money," Temari predicted._

_"And if you lose?" The purple-faced ninja went on further._

_"Then, I'll probably have to confess my feelings to…" the blonde pony-tailed kunoichi trailed off of her words as both of her cheeks turned into pink in embarrassment. She shrugged off and asked. "What about you?"_

_"Me? I know who I'm betting on. It's going to be the two best friends …" Kankuro predicted straightforwardly when he whistled a tune._

_"If you lose?" Temari asked with a grin._

_"Then, I'll probably have to build up a puppet show for the kids… I hate kids…" the purple-ninja faced muttered in disgust. "They have cooties and you know how much I don't want to get infected."_

_Temari burst out laughing and said gleefully. "Sounds good to me. Oh, don't forget to sign their autographs."_

_"Ugh. Whatever," Kankuro rolled his eyes in annoyance._

_"So, we got a deal then," Temari smirked as she gestured her hand out._

_"Yeah, the deal is sealed," Kankuro placed his hand out proudly and shook their hands in agreement._

_Temari gave him a brief nod with a smile as the wind was brushing across their faces._

_END OF FLASHBACK_

At that time, Lee began to chuckle at the story that Kankuro told him. Then, his smile began to falter when he was starting to wonder about the predictions of the future.

He looked down and asked him for reassurance. "Are you sure that you think that they will be together…?"

Kankuro stared at him and closed his eyes for a moment, then reopens them as he slowly glanced sincerely at the pink-haired kunoichi who was laughing at one of her friends jokes. He cleared his throat and looked back at Lee resolutely, saying. "Yeah… Because you and I both know."

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_TO BE CONTINUED..._


	10. Katsumi's Jealousy

**Please read review!**

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The afternoon was beginning to be chilly since most of the shinobi were headed to wear and every citizen in the sand village stayed home. Yet, there are some people who are dedicated to work on a daily basis. Inside the Kazekage tower and buildings is where the elders had sat down in the conference room full of discussions about the strategies that each of the division squads are planning to do. At the same time, they were concerned that things may end up in the wrong side of the tracks and how strong the Akatsuki really is. They also fear the worse case scenario may occur. However, there is a part of them that believes in the one who will stop the chaos because that person is their only hope. The elders kept pointing fingers at each other with frustration and insanity without flipping the papers.

When Katsumi was walking outside the hallways, she started to hear voices inside the room, wanting to know what the argument was all about. But then, she figured that it was the fourth ninja war. She decided to listen closely with her eyes peeked through the slightest door open.

"The previous Kages were resurrected by one of the Akatsuki members. Who would've thought that one is capable of activating the Edo Tensei," the elderly man spoke out impressively.

"I assume it was Orochimaru's subordinate, I see," his friend guessed out correctly.

"You two seem to be very buoyant about this, I suddenly feel disconsolate," the elderly woman shook her head with a low stare at them.

"Now, why on earth do you think that way? Of course, we are not all jolly. We are only justifying the facts," the elderly man said.

"He's right," the second one pointed out and continued on. "The enemy is difficult to overestimate the abilities. No doubt that he is in a hiding place."

"But the two division squads already found him," the youngest jounin said.

"Even so, he has other allies and it is not easy to attack him right away," the third elderly man said.

"Perhaps, that is only the basic warm up," the fourth elderly man thought out.

"Maybe. We don't know the expectations of the shinobi, especially when it comes to the fifth Kazekage," the elderly woman muttered quietly with her hands folded firmly.

"What about him? Gaara… He has the potential to lead the ninja alliance," the second elderly man spoke in a deep tone of his voice.

"Absolutely, but there are others who prefer someone older," the third elderly man stated.

"Age is nothing but a number as long as one has the ability to fight," the elderly woman said logically.

"Hmm. Could've said better myself," the youngest jounin nodded shyly in agreement.

Outside the hallways, Katsumi carefully closed the doors in front of her as she began to walk back to her room. She did not want to get involved with the conversation of the elders because they will take care of everything they have on their sleeves.

A few minutes later, she started hearing voices on the other side of the room with giggles and jokes. She stopped by to see what the girls were talking about, so she looked at their door open and saw the envelopes they were working on and organizing them.

"Jeez, Lena, Flora. Will you two stop? We got to finish this by 4:00 pm. We don't have a lot of time to discuss it here. Stop making up rumours like that," the dark-haired girl rolled her eyes at their silliness.

"Come on, Moira. You and I can't deny that there is something going on with the Kazekage and his best friend," Lena smirked.

"Yeah. Wait, which one? The one from the leaf squad?" Flora asked in puzzlement.

"Duh. Who else? I mean, he's not even close with those girls," Lena pointed out.

"Okay, you know what. Maybe we do see that there is a spark with the Kazekage and Sakura Haruno. That girl is so strong, confident, and-" Moira got interrupted.

"Pretty," Flora guessed out with her index finger raised up.

"No. Pretty is so cheap. She's beautiful," Moira said smiling as she nodded.

"Definitely. I really wish I can have those bright green orbs on her eyes that lights up the day and night and find the man of my life," Lena sighed dreamily.

"Hey, doesn't the Kazekage have a girlfriend already?" Flora asked curiously.

"Oh, right. He does. She's… fine," Flora gritted her teeth, yet grinned.

"I never thought that the handsome Kazekage has a girlfriend who is a bit quaint and odious, don't you think?" Lena wondered.

"Certainly, she sometimes gets on my nerves. Quite intimidating, though," Moira murmured and clears her throat.

"Katsumi is her name, right?" Flora questioned in confusion.

"Yeah, I almost forgot about her. She's been traveling all over the world once every month and would visit here for only 2 weeks," Lena explained.

"You seem to know her schedule pretty well," Moira said curiously.

"That's because I've been hearing from Kankuro and Temari babbling about it yesterday," Lena snorted.

"Of course," Moira rolled her eyes in annoyance at her being a stickybeak.

"Kankuro and Temari are fond of Sakura," Flora said thoughtfully.

"Compared to their fondness of Katsumi? Yeah. No doubt," Lena shrugged off.

"Isn't that a little cold?" Moira questioned carefully.

"How is that cold when it's the truth, Moira?" Lena chuckled and shook her head.

"Yeah, they really adore Sakura," Flora said and continued on. "They almost treat her like a family."

"If you ask me, Katsumi is a type of woman who is also competitive. Her business may have quickly flop if she was more subtle," Lena remarked.

"Like a trash being blown up in space," Flora added without realizing her words.

"Well, isn't that the time of day to work and chit chat at the same time, ladies?" A familiar voice spoke out, which startled them to turn around and look at the brunette girl.

Lena, Flora, and Moira swallowed their throats nervously while they were flattening their blouses and pants.

Katsumi was staring at them with a beaming smile plastered on her face and said. "Have you finished what we've asked you to?"

"Uh… Yes, ma'am. We're still in the process of receiving and sending different envelopes," Lena answered hastily and bowed down.

"We also made sure that they go to the right mailing boxes," Flora stepped in with a happy grin.

"Good… Now, I came here to check up on you three to see how you're doing. Since you all settled the rest of the documents, keep waiting for updates from the messenger hawk," Katsumi informed lightly. She then turned her back on them and stopped by the doorway when she continued on, saying. "Instead of gossiping and insulting other people, try learning some human decency around here."

Lena, Flora, and Moira muttered in guilt as they tilted their heads down with their own hands folded. "Sorry…"

"Right. Go ahead and proceed," Katsumi instructed firmly as she glanced on her left shoulder without facing them directly. Then, she started walking away from them as soon as she left.

Moira sighed in relief and confronted Lena and Flora. "What did I tell you? We almost made her mad. It's best to go out and talk about it somewhere else. You just couldn't wait."

"Ugh. What do you mean? We are almost done with work anyways. This is just a matter of our break," Lena protested.

"Moira is right. We should've been more careful. Miss Katsumi seems to be hiding her anger at us," Flora said in worry.

"Girl, obviously she is mad at what we've said about her. So what? Maybe the next thing that happens is her exploding the next minute like an atomic bomb," Lena chided in exasperation.

Moira elbowed her on the shoulder and gave her a warning stare.

"What? I'm just saying," Lena said defensively.

Later on in the afternoon, the dark-brunette girl had her mind running through so many thoughts. She grabbed onto the sink as she was holding onto it in a firm grip.

Katsumi never expected that her Kazekage boyfriend has a very special bond with the pink-haired kunoichi. She did know about their history together and she couldn't pinpoint as to what makes Sakura even more remarkable.

She has been away for traveling abroad and having a busy schedule with the other clients. Though, it wasn't hectic to deal with the issues that has been going around in her business. She is a normal person who wants to make her family proud, especially the love of her life.

Thinking about the closeness that her boyfriend and the pink-haired kunoichi had was starting to make her blood boil.

Her eyes began to darken in resentment while she was staring directly at herself in the mirror, breathing heavily and swinging gently back and forth after she heard the conversations of others around her.

She closed her eyes and wash her hands off as she turned back to normal, then exited the women's washroom.

As soon as she heads inside the Kazekage's office, she continued to do the paperwork on the desk and signs every page while placing them into a neat pile until she came across a letter that was stamped in red words.

She read the name on the bottom right corner of letter that says Lee, much to her surprise.

She couldn't help but rip the flap off and pulls out the paper. Then, as soon as she unfolded it, her eyes widened in shock when she examined the longest words that were written in the letter.

Her hands began to grip at the edges of it and that's when she started to become more envious.

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_TO BE CONTINUED..._


	11. Secrecy

**Please read & review!**

* * *

An hour has passed and the leaf squad has been traveling to find the hideout of the Akatsuki. They continue to hop onto different branches of the trees without stopping to take a break, for at least five to ten minutes.

"Uhh… uh…" Kiba snored while Akamaru as carrying him on the back.

Tenten and Hinata became puzzled, whereas Choji and Sai were looking at him weirdly.

"You know, it's late in the afternoon for us to be taking a nap at this moment," Ino snorted and giggled at the same time.

"Yeah. We barely encounter the enemies," Tenten said boredly.

"Are you asking for one?" Shino questioned quietly.

"No!" Tenten raised her voice out loud until the others told her to shush up.

Lee chuckled as he shook his head at them, then asked. "You found anything?"

"Not necessarily. But in this area, we are supposed to be fighting now… How strange," Neji stated in suspicion as his eyes returned back to his normal vision and gently massaged his temples back and forth.

"I see. Well, it doesn't matter. We're almost there anyway," Lee said positively.

Sai's eyes started to tear up and quickly wipes them away. "Wha…?"

"Hey, you okay?" Ino asked beside him.

"Y-yeah. I'm fine. Probably, my clone fought someone already," he answered and cleared his throat.

"Who?" She wondered curiously.

"My brother," Sai murmured emotionless without looking at her.

Ino gazed at him with a frown in which she figured out that they have gone through some difficulties in the past. After Sai was seeing his brother for the last time made him feel isolated and empty. After all, drawing the picture of him and his brother was something that he would cherish forever.

She didn't say anything or even try to interrogate him with more questions. She understood this as she patted him on the left shoulder with a smile on her face.

Sai glanced at her and noticed how beautiful her eyes are, then looked away in shyness.

Ino was confused at his expression, but decided to shrug off.

"Uhmm… guys… I have a terrible feeling about this," Hinata muttered in panic when she activated her Byakugan.

"What's wrong? Did you found their base yet?" Neji became alarmed.

"No, but I think they've already ha!" Hinata shrieked when a mysterious hand grabbed her ankle relentlessly and dragged her all the way down to the ground.

"Hinata!" Neji and Lee called out in unison.

"What the hell?!" Kiba raised his head up quickly and his eyes started to widen in horror after seeing white multiple figures popping out of the trees.

"No way!" Tenten yelled vehemently in disgust.

"These are…" Shino trailed off of his words.

"The white Zetsus," Sai stated firmly.

One of them extended their arms to reach out and snatch the bag out of Choji's hand hastily, much to his shock.

"Hey! My potato chips! Give it back here, you slimy goats!" He burst out in rage with his fists clenched tightly.

"Watch out!" Shino cried out as he saw the white Zetsus flying down upon them with their hands and feet clawing.

"Ahhh!" Ino screamed as she kicked a few of them behind her and ran as fast as she can.

"Crap!" Kiba got off from Akamaru and growled in annoyance when one of the white Zetsus was throwing punches and kicks at him. He immediately kept dodging the attacks, then he hurtled himself to wrap his arms around the body and wrestle him. He quickly elbowed the other one in the stomach and used Fang Over Fang technique that blew the Zetsus off of him.

Apparently, they've exploded into pieces of crumbs as soon as they were falling onto the ground.

"Guys, it's best if we partner up into two because right now, this doesn't seem to be such a good idea if we are all huddled up or being cornered. We must divide. It's the only way to beat them one at a time," Sai explained logically.

"Yeah...Uh-oh. They've already regenerated so fast and multiplying nonstop!" Ino began to freak out and squealed in shock at the sight of the Zetsu army.

"How is that possible?" Sakura questioned in confusion.

"Someone is controlling them or perhaps, this is the White Zetsu's capabilities," Neji pointed out as he examined the bodies carefully.

"Where's the original one?" Lee asked with his eyes narrowed slightly.

"I believe he is among them. But I could be wrong," Neji looked around to be more cautious.

"What if he's not here?" Sakura pondered for a moment.

"What do you mean?"

"The enemy is basically sending out more substitutions while he's in hiding, don't you see?" The pink-haired kunoichi reasoned out.

"Who knows. This is only just a test," Neji noted.

"More like an ambush!" Kiba yelled out near the distance as he continued to fight off the clones,

"Alright, then. We got to split up and drag them away from here. Otherwise, the rest of the division squads will be arriving here in the next couple of hours. We don't know if their battles have been finished or not, so we might as well go to a place where these Zetsus don't regenerate," Neji explained in hurry.

"How are we going to do that? Finding a place? There's not enough that could destroy them," Lee raised an eyebrow cluelessly.

"Ahh!" Tenten cried out furiously as she uses the Twin Dragon scrolls to summon them and attack with various kunai knives stabbing the bodies.

Sakura glanced at her friends in worry when she bit the bottom corner of her lip, saying. "Lee, you'll be my partner."

"Sure!" Lee nodded in surprise, whereas deep inside he was extremely happy and excited that she picked him.

"I'll go with Tenten," Neji confirmed as he hopped on the side of the tree branch next to her and started combatting the enemies physically.

"Ino!" Sai called out to her when he was riding the huge white bird and continued on. "Come with me. You and I are able to use the ninjutsu and techniques to obliterate them, so it's most likely that they get eliminated easily."

"Right!" Ino nodded in understanding and quickly grabbed onto his right hand as she landed safely on the bird's back. They flew off while the group of Zetsus was following them.

"Hinata! We've got to go together," Kiba said when he and Akamaru jumped onto her side.

"I know," she said with her eyes turning into Byakugan mode and preparing herself to use her powers. Both of her fists were held in front of her once she releases the blue chakra out of her palms.

"I think we're the only ones, then," Choji leaned back over quietly.

"No doubt," Shino said, raising his arms up to release the bugs and engulf the Zetsus in which eats the remaining parts of its corpses.

From that moment on, the leaf squad was segregated into five sections in the forest. The first group is headed to the north while the second one goes to the south. The third group is headed in the east, whereas the fourth one goes to the west. The last group stays in the middle and it is the only option to scatter the white Zetsus out in the open for a wide range attack. Although, only one group must find the real Zetsu in order to stop the clones from increasing the number of figures.

"Tenten, it seems that we have to follow Sakura and Lee," Neji informed, panting breathlessly after fighting countless of them.

"What are you saying?! There's only one group that needs to go and expose the enemy's hideout," Tenten retorted back until she shielded herself with the huge metal spike ball handle she was carrying and smash the Zetsu's face full force.

"How? As a Hyuga, I'm able to see quite clearly," Neji pointed out.

"I know, but… Ugh. What choice do we have? Let's just go," Tenten grunted in exhaustion as they both began to hop out of the trees and move along to find their tracks.

Meanwhile back in the Kazekage's office, Katsumi carefully folded the letter and placed it safely inside their pocket of her pants. She gently brushed the dust off of her sleeves and gazed at the envelope that has a red stamp on it. Her lips slowly curved into an eerie smile with a dark glint in her eyes, feeling more satisfied with the little work she did. She was the only person who knows what she is up to.

Once she started walking out of the room, she kept the expression on her face and strutted down the hallways, making the tapping noises of her heels on the floor.

_Katsumi chuckled menacingly in mind, saying. "They didn't think that no one will be snooping around someone's letters, do they? Hmm, because this time, I'm the one who is in charge. That Lee guy thinks he will tell him about everything. Too bad. He's messing with the wrong girl. Don't worry, I will just have to take care of him and that annoying pest Sakura."_

Later on, she arrived at the Sand Siblings' house and opens the door with the keys. She entered into one of their rooms and took some scrolls as she placed them inside her small bag. She closed the zippers and securely put it behind her back, humming contentedly to herself.

She slowly noticed a mirror near the drawers and steps into the front when she began to sway side to side after realizing that she wasn't the same person.

The smile became wicked.

Around the northern side of the forest near the mountains, Lee halted on top of the highest tree branch when he started to feel his stomach drop in fear.

"I don't feel so good…" he mumbled nervously while standing frozen in his spot.

"Are you alright?" Sakura came over to his side and check up on his condition.

"I'm okay. I didn't eat anything bad or drink something. It's just my gut instincts that is telling me that something weird is about to happen. But I'm not so sure if it's about what I did," Lee looked down anxiously as his sweats was forming a few drops on his forehead.

"Huh? What? What did you do?" Sakura asked suspiciously with her eyebrows furrowed in wonder.

"Sakura… I'm sorry…" the green leaf ninja closed his eyes apologetically. "I couldn't hold back."

"You… No…" Sakura's eyes widened in dismay when she finally came to a realization.

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_TO BE CONTINUED..._


	12. Breakout!

**Hey, guys. I know this is kind of a short chapter, but I'll be writing the next longest ones soon.****Anyway, please read review!**

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"Lee... What did you do?" Sakura asked when her eyes started to narrow in annoyance.

"I-I... uh... I... Ten days ago, I wrote a letter that explains everything about you, Sasuke, Naruto, and well... Gaara. The thing is... I also put a confession there that you have fallen on love..." The green leaf ninja muttered reluctantly as he tilted his head down.

"You what?!" The pink-haired kunoichi 've eyes started to widen in shock.

Lee sighed in awkwardness, closing his eyes without saying a word.

"We both made a promise to each other and I gave you my trust. You don't just go around making a decision for me. You did it-" Sakura ranted in irritation when she quickly stood up and stomped away to gaze back and forth worriedly.

Lee got up and point out a reason, speaking softly. "I wanted to help you. Since you told me that you only see Sasuke as a friend, this is the chance to prove your feelings!"

The pink-haired kunoichi stated hardly at the view of the landscape, then shakes her head in disagreement. She turned around to face him and argued. "Without my consent! You took advantage of my trust, yet you think it's the right thing to do."

"Because it is the right thing... All these years you've been chasing after Sasuke who doesn't care about anyone but himself. You've been heartbroken long enough and still hope he will come back and change... Guess what? We've never know if he will. But your feelings for him was changed. You're in love with someone else, which I've already figured out, just by how deep and close your bond is with each other," the green leaf ninja explained with a frown expression.

"But you have no right to decide on my feelings. I will speak up when it's the right time," the pink-haired kunoichi lectured as she turned her back on him and continued to stared at the view silently.

"I'm sorry... Look, Sakura... He needs to know," Lee spoke desperately.

"Lee! I'm not the type of person that meddles into the relationship and destroys them," the pink-haired kunoichi stated calmly.

"And I'm not the type of person who is selfish and has no care for others' needs," the green leaf ninja said.

"This time, you kind of did," Sakura clenched her teeth angrily.

"Are you mad? I wouldn't mind if you are. At least, I did what I needed to do for your sake and everyone else's," Lee pointed out and continued on. "This will change everything."

"No, it will not! It won't matter anymore!" The pink-haired kunoichi said.

"Why not, Sakura?!" The green leaf ninja questioned strongly.

The pink-haired kunoichi became speechless and didn't want to tell him, so she stood in silence while she was gathering her thoughts. Her tears were beginning to form the corner of her eyes and swallowed a hard limp in her throat. "I've already told you I don't meddle and destroy relationships."

"How?!" Lee interrogated further.

"Why does that matter?! Why do you care about this?!" Sakura questioned and shook her head.

"Look. You are not meddling, nor destroying relationships. Trust me. Telling the truth is always the best thing, even if it hurts someone or anyone," Lee stated logically. "Don't deny your feelings..."

Sakura, on the other hand, paused as her eyes were glistening in tears while holding them back. She deeply breathes through her nose slowly until two voices was calling out for them.

"Guys!" They replied in unison.

The pink-haired kunoichi and the green leaf ninja got a little startled when they turned around to see them.

"Neji! Tenten!" Lee said surprisingly. "What are you guys doing here?"

"There's no time for me to explain the beginning, so I'll get straight to the point," Neji said quickly.

"What is it?" Sakura asked blankly.

"Look, it will not be easy if none of us can find the enemy, that's why using the Byakugan will track down the location," Neji explained.

"That makes sense. Without the Byakugan user, we would be lost," Lee nodded in understanding.

"Shall we head on now? We don't have much time left," Tenten reminded.

Lee glanced over his shoulder to look at Sakura, who breathes in and gave a brief nod at the with a faltered smile.

"Let's go," Tenten said softly.

"Yeah," Lee agreed.

Then, later on, Naruto and KillerBee were exchanging fist bumps while they were sitting down and meditating with their eyes closed. The conversation they were currently having about their personal history made the connect more. Pain became part of their lives and it will never be forgotten, but they were able to forgive the people who hurt them. Even then, they've learned so many things, which helped them grow stronger, aside from their friends who have the support and encouragement.

"I think every jinchuriki experiences the same thing. You know what, I'm glad I met you and everyone else. You guys taught me a lot; happiness, sadness, anger, and overcoming bad habits," the blonde-haired ninja explained as his eyes softened at the memories he recalled and continued on with a grin. "Thank you for being an awesome friend."

"You can count in me always, bro. But there is something you should know," the rapper ninja said coolly.

"What?" Naruto asked in puzzlement.

"Brother A and the Pages received an Intel about the white Zetsus invading the areas with all the divisions, so now they need more cooperation. We can't step out and fight, we gotta do what is right. We need to figure out a plan, cause time is ticking and there is nowhere to stand," KillerBee explained with a swag gesture of his left hand in a pose.

Naruto's eyes widened in shock without letting go of their fist bumps. "What?! Are you kidding? How is that possible? Hmm... Maybe the enemy used the technique to accumulate clones as many as he can."

"Yup," KillerBee nodded in agreement and continued on, rapping. "Wait! There's more to tell, so you gotta sit still and listen very well. Your pretty friend and the leaf squad have been acting strange, they are keeping a secret and they're out of range."

Naruto's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean by that?"

KillerBee answered. "They made the clones, so they're out of the zones."

Naruto's face became more astonished and started to wonder why his friends would do that.

It was only a matter of time until he slowly let go of their fist bumps and sighed heavily. "Sakura..."

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_TO BE CONTINUED..._


	13. Dance With The Devil

**Hey, guys. I just want to greet you a very, very, HAPPY NEW YEAR! Hopefully, this is a good fresh new start of 2020 and write more stories. **

**Anyways, please read & review!**

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"All we gotta do is trust them, so we don't need to add more problems," KillerBee stated smoothly.

"Uhmm... We got to help them. Running away or hiding won't solve this," Naruto insisted and went on further. "Come on, this is our chance."

The rapper ninja nodded with a grunt. "Sure."

"Great. Let's get the hell out of here," the blonde-haired ninja exclaimed with hype and stood up quickly on his feet.

As soon as they both got up from their spots, one of the leaf joining cane in and approach them with a full expression on his face.

"There's no point in stopping you two, isn't it?" Yamato thinned his lips curving into a relaxing smile.

Naruto shook his head and replied. "Nope."

"Go," Yamato gestured his left hand towards the exit door and they followed the direction.

The two jinchurikis leave him in his own mind, thinking about what could possibly go wrong.

_"I really hope Lady Tsunade doesn't get mad at me for letting them go," Yamato thought in concern._

During that time, Sakura and the others had been traveling around the forest near the mountains to search for the enemy's hideout.

Unfortunately, there was no sign of the white Zetsus until they stopped by at the tree branches to rest.

"This is getting ridiculous. We've been going on and on in circles," Tenten complained in frustration.

"Yeah! This is not going anywhere," Sakura murmured with her eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"Don't worry, I made sure that all of our scents and presence does not linger in the corners. I used a powder that covers ourselves," Lee explained briefly.

"You mean, us being invisible?" Tenten questioned in confusion.

"Pretty much," the green leaf ninja nodded.

"Guys... He's coming," Neji said quietly.

Sakura, Lee, and Tenten were standing still on their own spots without moving a single inch or taking a breath. They were listening intently on the heavy sounds that was ringing inside the trees.

Suddenly, a loud screeching noise echoed throughout the area in which they quickly covered all their ears. The white Zetsu began to appear himself out of the tree as he slowly emerged upon the surface with his sharp teeth grinning sadistically.

"No way... Is that his form?" Sakura asked in disbelief.

"Most likely," Neji responded while they continue to stare at the half-human and creature, who was glancing around to find victims to prey on.

"Where are you, kiddos?! I'm here!" The white Zetsu sang gleefully.

"Jeez. Took him long enough to come out. We wouldn't have to be wandering like this," Tenten rolled her eyes.

"Apparently, he's saving a lot of energy and chakra to boost up his powers," Neji stated firmly.

"What are they?" Sakura asked curiously.

"Hm. That is something that I'm unable to answer," Neji chuckled slightly.

"Shit... What if he knows that we're here? My invisible powder may not last that long," Lee cursed, panicking.

"How many minutes?" Tenten questioned hastily.

The green leaf ninja started to laugh nervously as he rubbed the back of his head, saying. "I don't know..."

"What?! Then, how are we going to attack him if we don't know what state we're in?!" Tenten hissed.

The white Zetsu quickly sniffed their scents as his nostrils flared and looked at their direction. His eyes beamed hungrily and wickedly, then disappeared out of their sight, which they became puzzled for a moment.

"Crap! Where did he go-?" Lee got interrupted as soon as he tripped don on the branch and grunted in pain. "Ahh!"

"Lee!" Tenten exclaimed.

Sakura's eyes widened in shock when the white Zetsu quickly flashed behind her back and started absorbing the chakra between her arms and legs.

"Ughh!" The pink-haired kunoichi elbowed and kicked her foot towards his body, but he was immune to her physical attacks. She stepped away from him and stood on the other side of the tree branch, ready to fight.

"My turn!" Tenten flew up in the air and started spinning her huge metal spike ball, hurling down across the white Zetsu's scratches on his defense shield.

"Arrrghh!" He roared out.

Neji closed his eyes as he began to perform one of his common techniques with his hands and feet. The Yin and Yang symbol showed around him, then made slow gestures to attack the White Zetsu. He used 64 palms with more combos that he hit onto the enemy's body, damaging the defense shield to the extent.

Unfortunately, the white Zetsu had rejuvenated it back to normal, stunning the others in dismay.

"What?" The pink-haired kunoichi's eyes widened in wonder.

"How can this be?" Tenten protested. "That's not fair!"

"Ahh. You kiddos have done a great performance. Well done. Sadly, it was not fantastic at all. You are all too weak for me. I'm certain that everything is always fair, my dear," the white Zetsu stated maliciously when he continued to laugh out loud.

Tenten growled and fumed in anger, remarking. "I'll show you, you big creep!"

Lee got up and warned her. "Don't. Don't let him provoke you. We must not underestimate him that easily."

"He's right. We just need to figure out a strategy," Neji said.

"What strategy? I would pretty much blow up this guy's head off right now. He's so annoying. Pissing us off like that," Tenten clenched her teeth.

"That's not the best idea. If you attack with anger, you'll end up losing. If you lose, you get hurt," Neji advised logically.

Sakura nodded in agreement and said. "Yeah. That's true. Wait. Can you see his weaknesses because if we know them, we will get a better chance at defeating him."

The white Zetsu asked monotonously. "What's the matter? Too afraid to fight me?"

Neji glanced at his friends, saying. "I got it. But you guys have to follow every detail that I'm about to tell you and which one of us will be attacking the parts of his. Weakening his condition will give us the opportunity to use our techniques at a good rate. Are you with me?"

Sakura and Lee nodded in understanding.

Neji peeked over at Tenten and asked reassuringly. "Are you?"

The brunette girl looked at him and gave a curt nod. "Yeah..."

"Good. Now, listen..." Neji said as he turned his attention back on the white Zetsu sternly.

At this point in time, the four of them were set into their positions and were waiting for the right time to start attacking.

Neji was the first one to go and started circling the white Zetsu as fast as he can when he was running. He quickly made hand signs to perform his jutsu called the Eight Trigrams Revolving Heave, which deflects all the attacks from any direction. The next step he made was using the Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm attacking targets against the enemy's body. Thus, the white Zetsu's head started to become dizzy as he attempts to grab onto his arms and legs but failed to do so when Neji pummeled him harshly with his palms.

Tenten hopped onto the air and threw various weapons, striking heavily across the shield, whilst cracking into bits of pieces.

Sakura stepped on forward as she immediately uses the Earth Shock Wave jutsu and gave a huge punch through his stomach deeply, resulting in a cry out of pain and damage. She smirked proudly and stepped onto the other tree branch.

Finally, Lee decided to unwrap a few of his bandages off of his wrists and unleashes his Primary Lotus technique. He grabbed the enemy's body as he spun him around up in the air and smashed him through the tree. Lee jumped back when he took a look at his attack. He panted a long breath in relief until he noticed that the body was melting away, much to their shock and puzzlement.

"What?!" Tenten muttered in disbelief.

"No..." Sakura groaned as she sighed disappointedly.

"A substitution? No doubt," Neji stated while he was gazing upon the white gooey liquid spilling onto the wood with heat.

Then, deep mischievous laughter rang through their ears behind them and was clapping slowly.

"Who would've known that you youngsters would be going this far to battle the Akatsuki? I must say, you have the most guts of all. It seems that you have broken the rules of your Ninja Alliance. Very bad delinquents, eh..." he remarked with an amused smirk.

Sakura and the others quickly turned around and became astonished after seeing a long time former acquaintance, standing right before their eyes.

"Kabuto..." the pink-haired kunoichi stammered.

"It's you!?" Lee was perplexed at this.

"My, my. How times have changed. Just when the first moment I met you, Naruto, and the rest during the chunin exams, you were all acknowledgeable towards me," he said, recalling back at those memories dramatically.

"Not anymore. In fact, we mostly despise you to the bottom of the earth's core," Sakura gritted her teeth as she glared daggers at him.

"Aww... That's so sweet of you, my dear. Oh, by the way, I heard that Sasuke will be joining the party later. Tough luck. You won't be able to convince him to come back. Pity," Kabuto mocked sarcastically.

"Sasuke is going to be fighting for sure..." Lee mumbled, frowning to himself.

_"Unbelievable. But there's no other choice, is there?" Sakura thought hopelessly._

_**"No... However, I'm ready to confront him," Her inner self answered determinedly and asks. "Are you?" **_

_Sakura smiled and said confidently. "I'm more than ready." _

"You don't know if he is one of our sides," Neji replied directly to Kabuto, who raised an eyebrow at him quizzically.

"No matter. After all, that boy has certainly developed his own mind as if he only raised himself and only values his perception towards what he holds," the dark-hooded ninja explained and continued on bluntly. "I assume you have all protected someone or should I say, the two precious jinchurikis; Naruto and KillerBee. Am I correct?"

Sakura kept her glare at him, retorting back angrily. "What is it to you, anyway? It is none of your business and never should you ever interfere... If you do something to them, I swear I won't stop myself from killing you."

Kabuto chuckled menacingly and reassured her slyly. "Oh. Don't you worry, I already have my eyes on the others. Capturing the tailed beasts is the last thing I would do. The Akatsuki will take care of that."

"Why, you...?!" Sakura clenched her fist tightly, ready to pound him.

Though, a black teleportal reveals a mysterious masked man appearing beside Kabuto silently, much to the others' skepticism.

"Huh?!" Tenten's expression went blank, whereas Neji was carefully examining the vital signs and the type of chakra he has within him.

"Unusual..." the Byakugan user informed quietly.

"What? What do you mean?" Tenten queered in.

"This man is hard to identify," Neji said, fixated on him.

"Kabuto, what did I tell you to stop playing games with them?" Tobi scolded lightly.

"Hmph. Haven't you completed the tasks already?" He scoffed.

"A couple of hours ago. All is settled," Tobi said monotonously.

"Wow. That's impressive. Well, I just stopped by here to have a little nice chat with the leaf squad," Kabuto grinned maliciously.

"Now is not the time. There is something that you need to take care of. One of the divisions had succeeded the first rounds," Tobi clarified the news and continued on. "We must head back. You'll get a chance to talk with these lifeless bodies."

Lee narrowed his eyes in annoyance. "What...?!"

_Inside his mind, he began to repeat what he said about them. "Lifeless bodies... He's more than crazy..."_

"Alright. Might as well, save the fun for later," Kabuto smirked amusingly.

As soon as Tobi opened the black portal using his eye, they both entered inside and close the gateway that was shrinking into the small size until they slowly vanished.

Sakura and the others breathe out in relief after witnessing the unexpected person to pop in.

"What was that?" Tenten asked weirdly.

"I don't know... But that man is on a different level. He is far beyond Kabuto, who is only a mere pawn. I must say, we should not let our guard down, neither we should underestimate," Neji informed intently.

"Right. What do we do now? They already got away, especially the white Zetsu," Lee mentioned.

"We need to head back and help our friends," Tenten said.

"Good choice," Neji agreed.

On the other hand, the pink-haired kunoichi's vision was starting to become a little blur and her head ached on the side. She dropped to her knees, trying to keep herself together. Sweat was beginning to form droplets on her forehead in which she had realized that she cannot withstand the substitution any longer since there is only a limit.

Lee, Tenten, and Neji glanced at her in worry. "Sakura!"

"Hey! You alright?" The green leaf ninja placed his right hand upon the right shoulder.

"Yeah. I feel slightly dizzy... I don't think I'm able to keep my clone up soon," Sakura said softly.

"Absolutely, I'm afraid that every group will know that we bailed out and replaced ourselves with our clones," Neji pointed out calmly.

"Arghh... I think I'm also draining out slowly," Lee groaned nervously.

"Me too," Tenten sighed in exasperation.

"Once we see them again, this time we fight. Hesitating is not a good option," Neji stated.

From that moment on, the four of them went to go find the others and told them what happened where they've encountered Kabuto and Tobi. They were disappointed in themselves of not being able to defeat the white Zetsu, who escaped lately. The leaf squad decided to dismiss their clones off on their positions since they have succeeded in their battles with their divisions.

Each of their substitutions disappeared in a puff of smoke from other places, which some of the shinobi took notice of this in astonishment, including the Sand siblings, who got startled at the sudden ebb of their friends' clones.

In Kankuro's group, he became more alarmed at what he just saw.

"Shit! I've been talking to the duplicates the whole time?!" The purple-faced ninja asked shockingly while he was standing and looking around to see that they've faded.

In Gaara's group, Temari and Shikamaru felt the same way as well.

"Where could they be?" The blonde-haired kunoichi murmured thoughtfully.

"This looks like trouble," Shikamaru pointed out dully and continued on. "Even Choji's not here. What a drag."

"I'm surprised that they would keep up their chakra longer than the usual limit we have," Temari said impressively.

"They did train a lot harder," Shikamaru stated and sighed with his eyes closed fearfully before he called out. "Gaara!"

The red-haired Kazekage glanced a little over his right shoulder and looked down at him and the others. "What is it?"

"You see... Uh... There's been a little problem," Shikamaru gritted his teeth and smiled awkwardly.

Temari laughed timidly and stepped in, saying. "The rest of the leaf squad decamped out and used their clones to take their positions."

"Where are they?" Gaara asked strictly.

"I have no idea," the blonde-haired kunoichi answered faintly.

Shikamaru gave a whistle and instructed quickly. "Guys, if anyone of you can search their whereabouts, please do so. We would appreciate it if you find them. That is all."

The shinobi nodded at this with each other as they began to whisper among themselves, whereas Temari shrugged.

"There's no need to worry, Gaara. They will come back," she said out loud with reassurance.

However, the red-haired Kazekage responded back when he continued to stare at the far view in front of him. He gazed thoughtfully and wonder to himself as to why the leaf squad would go out and make an impetuous course of action.

_"Sakura... What did you do? Where are you guys?" He asked worriedly in mind._

He never expected that things would go this far. At this moment, he was contemplating, whether or not, he should contact the other Kages back at the hidden cloud village.

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_TO BE CONTINUED..._


	14. Signals From Afar

**Please read & review!**

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Kiba shook his head and gruntled loudly. "Ahh! Now what?! We just let them get away like that. Plus, we were this close to eliminating those white-ass minions."

Ino rolled her eyes and contradicted by saying. "Um, hello?! We weren't even halfway. They're constantly and constantly multiplying everywhere."

"Of course. The white Zetsu has huge immense power. It's not easy to defeat him unless we find out his weaknesses," Shino pointed out, pushing his sunglasses forward his nose skeptically.

"We already did. But Kabuto and this weird masked man just abruptly detained us from attacking them," Tenten snapped back.

"A masked man?" Sai repeated.

"Yeah," Tenten answered.

"I see… What if he's someone we know?" Sai asked in suspicion.

"Probably. But that may not necessarily be the case. He is difficult to identify," Neji explained thoroughly. "We're just going to need another back up plan then."

The others nodded in agreement as well as Sakura, who was thinking the same thing.

During that day, the shinobi allies have been standing to wait for the signal, whereas Temari was clearing her throat when she began to speak out.

"Listen, Gaara. I think it's best if we should let them be and do their part. It will benefit us, especially our countries in the world," she looked up at his back in worry.

The red-haired Kazekage did not respond back, nor glance at his sister. Instead, he stayed calm with his arms crossed as usual.

Shikamaru stared at his back and was thinking about how Gaara was feeling right now since Sakura and the leaf squad took the initiative to confront the Akatsuki themselves. He breathed out blandly in his own mind, saying. _"Watching him so quiet and still makes me unsettling. I should've known that this may go down."_

From that moment on, the previous Kages resumed their conversation with each other.

"Rasa, are you really this dense? You can't be the only one fighting against your son, are you? We are involved in this too, you know?" The third Raikage protested with a sneer.

"Now, now. You must calm down. Let him deal with his personal matters. After all, Gaara is his family and should be history," the second Mizukage was grinning in amusement.

"Father against his own son? Hmm. I've suddenly become intrigued," the second Tsuchikage said smoothly.

In the afternoon, somewhere in the Great Frog Paradise Island, Naruto and Killerbee were running rapidly through the tunnels without stopping. They heard a red siren above them, which burst out a scroll that was wrapped tightly in a red string. The blonde-haired ninja caught it flexibly with his left hand and unties it, then skims over the paper. His eyes quickly scanned the words and could not believe what he had just read.

"What? That's crazy," he exclaimed.

"Who's that from?" Killerbee asked blankly.

"Gaara. He sent us a message about the leaf squad missing. They went somewhere to go and track down the Akatsuki. I'm shocked," Naruto said and questioned inquisitively. "But why though?"

"Bro, they may have gone along with their decision from the start, but things just got a little too far," the rapper ninja replied quietly.

"Yeah. Still, they were only helping out. The more, the merrier!" The blonde-haired ninja reasoned out firmly.

"Don't put your high hopes in because the chances are really wearing thin!" Killerbee advised.

"Argh! Who gives a crap! Are you going to be on my side or what?" Naruto asked frustratingly, ignoring what he said recently.

Killerbee looked at him for a moment until he nodded back in response. "Hmm."

"Okay, then. Let's keep going," Naruto noted as he began to speed up his running as soon as they reached the end of the tunnel and see the daylight.

Once they have gotten out of the area, both of the jinchurikis landed on the boat safely. Before they depart, Naruto made sure that nobody is able to see where they are heading. By setting up the invisible barrier using the scroll, he suddenly felt relieved that Yamato gave them permission to let them go. The blonde-haired ninja grinned in delight and gladness towards his friends but was a little concerned about what they did at the same time. Although, he will not be surprised if Tsunade finds out about this, even though, she will be much more than angry.

Back in the mountains and forest, the leaf squad ends up traveling all the way back to their division squads. They hopped onto different tree branches, not even stumbling upon the crooked ones, which they smashed it severely with their sandals.

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Choji stammered.

"What are you talking about?" Ino asked.

"I'm sort of high strung if they discover our plan," Choji answered anxiously.

"Let them speculate. Sooner or later, they will understand why we are all doing this," Sai replied calmly.

"Yeah. I mean, I don't feel guilty with what we are doing next," Kiba said chuckling, whereas Akamaru barked happily.

"I know right," Tenten agreed.

"Perhaps. However, the Kages think otherwise," Neji stated.

Sakura looked down in thought as she did not respond back. She remained indistinct as she was pondering over the things that Kabuto had said. She couldn't get over the fact that Sasuke was obviously going to war at any time.

_"__He's not going to stop…" she said, frowning in mind._

_"__**I'm afraid so. You know what, even if we encounter him, we will do what we can to bring him back. He's our friend and it won't change anything between us," her inner self promised sincerely.**_

_"__Hmm," the pink-haired kunoichi understood this._

Later on, Tsunade and the Kages received the signals that Sakura and the leaf squad took an act of fighting against one of the Akatsuki members; the white Zetsu.

"What?! Those kids did what?!" Raikage A's eyes bewildered and yelled vehemently. "How is that a good thing?!" He banged his fist on the round table, causing a little quake with the other cups and books that were displayed.

"Maybe they want to go for the extreme measures, so it will not give us too much stress dealing with the Akatsuki," Mei guessed.

"They can't do anything. The enemy is too strong. I swear if they do anything absurd, they're going to face major consequences," Raikage A growled furiously.

"Calm down. Those kids are on their way back to their own division squads," Mei said gently.

The door suddenly opened, which alarmed the others in puzzlement as soon as Shizune informed urgently. "Lady Tsunade, it's not that they only fought the white Zetsu. But they've also encountered Kabuto and possibly Madara Uchiha."

Mei and Raikage A's eyes widened in astonishment, whereas Tsunade was closing her eyes to prevent herself from being enraged.

"What of it? By the way, I want to know who started this whole mess," the fifth Hokage said.

Shizune started to laugh out tensely and answered. "It's Sakura Haruno and Rock lee, ma'am."

The Hokage's face went a little red as the veins were popping out on the side of her temples, resulting herself in vexation.

"Oh... Young lady, you are in trouble," She banged her fist on the table in madness, whereas the others told her to calm down.

Indeed, the pink-haired kunoichi is in deep trouble.

* * *

_TO BE CONTINUED..._


	15. Kazekage vs Kazekage

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* * *

The fourth Kazekage was pretending to not notice the Third Eye that his son had summoned to spy on him and his companions. He knew that if he sees it, Gaara would obviously be astonished by how his eyes can see clearly.

On the other hand, Onoki landed on top of the surface beside the red-haired Kazekage, who specifically told him not to restrain himself. Yet, Onoki reminded him of what he said about forsaking yourselves.

"Chh. I'm here to get back the principles I threw away a long time ago," the old Tsuchikage stated determinedly.

Gaara looked at him in the left corners of his eyes and didn't say anything.

"We can't retreat any further, we've got to make our stand here," Onoki stated.

"Agreed," Gaara said.

"The two of us can launch some long-range attacks and observe how they respond," Onoki explained.

On the other side of the desert, the rest of the previous Kages were still waiting for the right moment to attack them.

"Here they come. The two of them," Muu said, narrowing his eyes slightly to the far off distance.

Suddenly, a massive sand came flooding over the rocks and hills, much to their shock, especially Raka.

"Woohoo! That's a buttload of sand! Who's village do you think behind that one is?" Mizukage asked laughing out loud hysterically.

_"That's the power of Shukaku, the one-tail. Has he already used the false sleep technique!" Raka thought curiously in mind._

He then glared and decided to counterattack using his gold sand, which started to clash with the regular sand all at once.

"It stopped..." the third Raikage said.

"Gold is heavier than the sand. By mixing it into the wave, I was able to pull its movement. I used the same trick to stop the sand's Shukaku. The last time, it broke free and went berserk," Raka explained firmly.

On the other hand, the red-haired Kazekage appeared above them while he was riding on his sand.

_"Gaara?! It wasn't Shukaku. It was him?!" Raka questioned himself in confusion._

"Father, it's been a while," Gaara greeted monotonously.

"Gaara. Where did Shukaku go?" Raka asked concernedly.

"Gone forever. I'm no longer the jinchuriki you created," the red-haired Kazekage stated calmly.

"You're not a jinchuriki...? How is that possible?" Raka interrogated frustratingly.

"I died when the Shukaku was extracted out of me by the Akatsuki who control you now. But by the efforts of lady Chiyo and my friends, I came back to life," Gaara answered.

"So that old lady would do such a thing? And your friends?" Raka asked and continued on to mock. "You of all people have friends?"

"You tried to kill me six times and every single time I grew to fear and hate you. But now, I do not hate you. I even understand what you were trying to do. I am Kazekage now. It is the duty of a leader to protect the village and eradicate any threat to his home," Gaara stated sternly.

"You are Kazekage?" Raka repeated as his eyes widened in disbelief.

"Charisma oozes out of people without eyebrows, you know! Hot damn! I don't have eyebrows, either!" Mizukage yelled out in distress.

"How about that tiny goatee of yours, Mizukage?" Muu pointed out.

"Your son, eh? He's a good shinobi," the third Raikage stated.

Hey, if you are going to kill somebody, kill that bandaged bastard first! I'll even cheer you on!" Mizukage insisted.

From that moment on, Gaara and Raka continued to stare at each other while they both reminisce their past. The time when Gaara's mother died while giving birth to him and Raka couldn't do anything but to seal One-Tailed Shukaku inside his son's body in order to save the village from its beast's rampage. Everyone called him a monster in which he started to believe that he was one. Until the pink-haired kunoichi came into his life, his whole perception of himself became different from what they all see in him. She was a light to his own darkness and that his father was not capable of doing.

"This Edo-Tensei jutsu. Perhaps, there was some value to it after all. I will determine your worth once more, this time by my own hands. Can you surpass me?" Raka said in a daring way.

Gaara didn't respond right away as he began to wait to attack.

"Onoki, you must stop me. Numbers don't matter for a Jinton user like me. You are the only one who can," Muu commanded.

"I know, sir. But I have no intention of doing that this time," he refused.

"I see. You didn't turn out to be such a hard-headed old fool, after all," Muu commented.

All of a sudden, the father and son immediately used their sand to counter on top of each other, creating a mass of flood around them.

"All of you charge!" Onoki ordered the army.

"Let's go, everyone! Yeaah!" Temari and the others cried out in unison.

"Hailsand!" The red-haired Kazekage exclaimed as he raises up his arm quickly that forms into multiple stones and and strikes down towards the Kages.

However, Raka shielded them with his golden dust sand, but didn't notice that the sand was wrapping around his legs beneath him in which he had to look down.

_"What?! He already lifted his sand above the gold!" He thought surprisingly._

Gaara continued to lock the other Kages without hesitating to remove the sand away from their bodies. Then, Raka hastily attacks him with the golden sand once again, whereas a huge gigantic hand made of Gaara's sand came in to deflect. The fourth Kazekage's eyes became saddened as he realizes that his wife protected their own son.

_"You still live inside of this child, eh," Raka said, frowning in mind._

_Temari was running towards them as she saw her dad in disbelief. "Shit... That's dad!"_

"You've truly grown, Gaara. The only thing a parent needs to do is to trust in his children. That's all and that in itself has true value," Raka bowed his head down where his voice started to soften.

Gaara was starting to get traumatized as his eyes widened in shock of what he was telling him.

"That's what you meant Karura, isn't it? It appears that I didn't have an eye for value after all," Raka continued on sadly.

"What are you talking about?" The red-haired Kazekage questioned in confusion, but mostly he was getting desperate enough to listen more.

"The sand will always protect you. It's not Shukaku's strength that you wield, but your mother's," Raka answered while he started to think about Karura's promise to their new born baby at that time. He then lifted his head up to look at him straight in the eye sincerely by saying. "Gaara... Your mother truly loved you."

The red-haired Kazekage slowly froze on his spot in astonishment. He wasn't able to move right when his father had confessed to him.

Not a single word was spoken of a lie, but rather it was the truth.

* * *

_TO BE CONTINUED..._


	16. The Truth

**Please read & review!**

* * *

Gaara didn't know how to react, so he repeated again with a question. His facial expression went blank and asks. "My… my mother loved me…?"

Raka gazed down melancholy at the thought of her.

"But back then, when Yashamaru was after me…" the red-haired Kazekage stammered in perplexity as his eyes furrowed.

"I ordered Yashamaru to lie to you. I had to find out if the One-Tailed beast inside of you still had the capacity to berserk out of control. For the sake of the entire village. The person that Yashamaru hated wasn't you. Because I was the one who placed Shukaku of the Sand into you while you were still in his sister's womb. But Yashamaru was a ninja. He was my right arm as part of the Hidden Sand's ANBU. He followed my orders exactly as I gave them," Raka explained sincerely and continued on. "I also requested the third Hokage to give Sakura's parents a mission and make them leave out of our village, so they don't put themselves into danger because of you. And because Shukaku lives inside of you. I didn't want you to become happy with your dearest friend, Sakura, because I thought that if you two had a bond together, you will end up becoming weak…"

"Why…? After all this time…" Gaara questioned with his eyes full of pain while staring at his father.

"Because I was selfish. I was too caught up with my own desires. I didn't care about you and neither are your siblings at that time. I know. I put you through so many hardships in your life and it led you to the path of darkness when you were a kid. I destroyed the friendship that you and Sakura had. It was a mistake. It seems as though everything I did was a mistake. You ended up having to carry all kinds of excessive burdens and I decided all the choices for you. I stole your existence as a jinchuriki. I stole your feelings for your mother, Yashamaru, and of course… Sakura. I took away all of your connections with anyone you were so close with. Mostly, I would have taken away your life. Now, the only thing associated with them are the wounds in your heart," Raka explained further in remorse.

_FIRST FLASHBACK:_

_"Physical and emotional scars are a bit different... Unlike ones, there's no ointment available for emotional ones... and pain may never go away... But there is only one thing that can stop such a heartache. However, as inconvenient as it may seem, this cure can only be given by people other than yourself."_

_"What is it?" Gaara asked wondering what has brought him into light._

_"It's love," Yashamaru exclaimed. Gaara's eyes got widened all of a sudden._

_"Love?" He questioned again._

_"Yes," Yashamaru nodded and smiled at him._

_"H-how can I receive that?" He asked, frowning._

_"Gaara, you're already receiving it."_

_"Huh?" He did not understand what he's saying._

_"Love is... a heart's desire you feel for the precious ones around you, like the feeling my sister and your friend had for you and I believed they loved you very much. The sand Shukaku is primarily a living spirit specialized in attacks. It's automatic perfect defense is a proof of material affection. Your mother's will remain in the sand to protect you. Even after death, you wanted to be there for... Gaara."_

_END OF THE FIRST FLASHBACK_

_SECOND FLASHBACK_

_She slowly began to look at him as she cupped both sides of his cheeks with her tears streaming down her face, saying. "I will never betray our friendship. You want to know why I still kept your sand bracelet that you've given me back then?"_

_Gaara's eyes went wide, remembering the times where they were together. Then, he was waiting for her to respond._

_"Because you are my best friend and you mean so much to me... that's how much I love you, Gaara," she concluded happily with a smile that stunned the others in amazement and shock. None of them said a word, now that they've gone totally speechless. Everything that Sakura confessed was deeply honest and sincere._

_END OF THE SECOND FLASHBACK_

_THIRD FLASHBACK_

_That was the moment in time where he finally had his eyes opened to see the new light he was in. He looked behind him and noticed Naruto smiling at him, whereas Sakura was embracing him with her arms wrapped securely around him. Right after he came back to life from the tailed-beast extraction._

_END OF THE THIRD FLASHBACK_

_FOURTH FLASHBACK_

_When the pink-haired kunoichi was standing near the deck railing at the top of the Hokage Tower, she glanced quickly at her best friend behind her back._

_"Hey, Gaara…" she called out softly._

_"Hmm," he replied back with a blank expression on his face._

_Sakura slowly closed her eyes and smiled genuinely with a giggle. "Just remember… I'm always here for you, right?"_

_The red-haired Kazekage paused for a moment and nodded back with a smirk. "Of course."_

_The pink-haired kunoichi smiled so brightly that the sun was hitting across her figure, which amazed at how beautiful she is._

_END OF THE FOURTH FLASHBACK_

_FINAL FLASHBACK_

_"Never forget that, Gaara…." Yashamaru whispered and smiled warmly as he placed his hand upon his chest where his heart was beating._

_The young red-haired kid nodded silently with his eyes glistening in tears._

_END OF FLASHBACK_

In the present time, the red-haired Kazekage started to break down suddenly with his arm covering his face. He started to remember what Yashamaru and his mother had done for him and he couldn't be more grateful that his family truly loved him.

Raka took a notice and felt saddened when he was reflecting upon the things they went through.

"Gaara. Your mother was truly strong. Even in her death, she continues to believe in you and protect you. That's what helped you where you are today. Now that you've become Kazekage and you've made real friends. You have real connections with people. But I, your father, never did a good thing for you. No… I couldn't even call myself your father…" Raka said regretfully.

The red-haired Kazekage was slowly wiping every tear he shed. For such a long time in his life, he realized all of his wounds have finally healed.

* * *

_TO BE CONTINUED..._


	17. A Father's Love

**Please read & review!**

* * *

"Mother is definitely amazing," Gaara said wholeheartedly and continued on. "But this is the first time you've ever given me 'medicine,' father…"

"Gaara, you…" Raka trailed off of his words in amazement and smiled once again with his tear dropped down on his cheeks. "Thank you, my son…"

As soon as the seal was placed in the middle of his chest, he closed his eyes as he began to bid farewell to him and leave the rest to him. "_More than I could have hoped, you've surpassed me. I entrust everything to you now." _

Once he vanished, the rest of the Kages were attempting to break free from the sand's grasp.

"Hey, these cards are sealing you, aren't they? Alright then, young Kazekage. Bring it on," Mizukage said boldly with a proud smirk. He quickly crumbled it off of him as well as the third Raikage.

Both of them hopped out of their cages and began to attack, whereas the red-haired Kazekage glared while glancing at them observantly.

"It recognizes an enemy's jutsu and it programmed to respond on its own!" The third Raikage exclaimed. He was dashing forward towards the shinobi army, blowing them out of their way.

"Surround them!" Temari ordered strongly, holding her huge fan beside her.

The allies followed and started to run the specific direction she was pointing.

Meanwhile, Onoki was still fighting against Muu. He was panting out of breath, but was still able to manage to keep up with the strength he has left.

"Hehe. Your age is catching up to you, right?" Muu asked slyly and threatened. "If you don't call the Kazekage here, you will die here, old man."

Onoki ignored his remark and decided to use one of his techniques with his hands folded together. "Don't underestimate me… Rock Clone Technique!"

Then, a few figures of him appeared around him, much to Muu's surprise.

At this point in time, Naruto transformed into his Kyuubi Chakra Mode, which he now has the power to control over the beast's chakra. His aura changed into bright yellow, whereas the chakra was forming around his body. He and Killerbee encountered Itachi after they both had fought against him and Nagato. Even before that, he was thankful that Tsunade and Raikage A had let them go. They simply had a conversation where Itachi reminded Naruto not to take the wrong path like Madara. He wanted him to know that he has a lot of friends by his side. Then, he left them as soon as he jumped out of their sight, so that the two jinchurikis are able to take the chance to protect everyone, and mostly stop Sasuke from plotting out his schemes.

Back in the middle of the desert, all the shinobi allies had been attacking the Mizukage, using kunai knives and shurikens that pinned him towards the rocky wall. Although, their attacks were pretty pointless as he began to summon the clam's power, creating a mirage.

"Alright, let's do this!" One of the ninjas said.

"Aim for the clam!" The second one exclaimed and quickly threw all their weapons towards the creature.

"Huh?!" The others replied in unison with puzzlement.

The MIzukage burst out vehemently, saying. "You idiots! I've told you already that the clam's a mirage too!"

"Then, where the fuck is that real one?!" One of the shinobi questioned loudly.

"It's somewhere behind me, hiding in a mirage, so you can't see it!" The Mizukage answered.

Then, the third ninja ally suddenly threw a huge shuriken at him, but was futile when it passed through his body.

"I told you already! It's useless to attack me now!" The Mizukage stated.

"No, I aimed at the clam behind you and… oh fuck it, I don't know anymore!" The third ninja ally groaned in frustration.

Meanwhile, Temari and Gaara were currently fighting against the Raikage and Tsuchikage all at once. She used her Wind Element Net Cast technique that wrapped the Raikage tightly.

"I got him! Sealing team, move in!" The blonde-haired kunoichi demanded.

The others started to pace hastily and followed her instructions.

Gaara looked at Onoki with warning. "Behind you!"

Luckily, the old man dodged the attack, but felt a cramp on his back side. "Not now!"

"Dust Element Subatomic Separation!" Mu said, performing his technique with both hands displayed in front of him to gather tiny particles.

However, the red-haired Kazekage narrowed his eyes when he noticed that a huge blue chakra sphere was hanging above them. It was known as the Rasengan Planet, much to his surprise. But Naruto missed his attack on Mu, who immediately avoided it.

"Shit!" The blonde-haired ninja cursed.

"Mu is the sensor type!" Onoki reminded him.

"Gaara! Your sand!" Naruto called out, which Gaara lifted one up for him to stand.

As Mu was about to release his power, the blonde-haired ninja pushed himself off to counterattack him.

"Heh. My jutsu is even faster. You're too slow…" he said menacingly until Naruto shoved the Rasengan Planet into his abdomen, causing a whole lot of damage with his Serial Spinning technique.

Once they have defeated him, Gaara sealed Mu off with his sand, ignoring what he was saying to him. Then, Naruto jumped down and was about to speak up.

"Alright! You were awesome, Gaara!" He said happily and noticed Onoki with a weird expression. "Um… Err. You were nice too, little old man."

"I'm the Tsuchikage, anyways…" Onoki gave him an annoying stare.

"What are you doing at this battle?! Why did you come here?!" Gaara questioned in distress.

The blonde-haired ninja laughed nervously when he started rubbing the back of his head and stammered. "Uh… The reason…"

,

"Surely, you've got some kind of explanation you can give me, right?!" The red-haired Kazekage demanded.

"Yeah, of course," Naruto grinned as he gave him a curt nod.

Later on, the three of them were traveling around to look for more enemies and began to discuss the issue that Gaara was concerned about.

"I assume that Lady Tsunade has let you and KillerBee go," the red-haired Kazekage said calmly while looking straight at the direction they were going to.

"Hmm. Are you mad?" The blonde-haired ninja asked worriedly.

"No. Why would you think I am? I'm much more likely glad and impressed," Gaara answered.

"Ehhh? You sure? Because it doesn't seem like you're the type of person…" Naruto chuckles nervously.

"Listen, I know we've been a bit harder on you by locking you away from this mess that's been going on. To be frank with you, we are just frightened at the thought of you being in danger. We don't want you to risk your life for all of us," the red-haired Kazekage explained sincerely.

"I understand what you're saying, but this is something that I have chosen," the blonde-haired ninja pointed out.

"Of course. Sorry if we underestimated you… You have something greater in you that everyone else will finally see. We trust you that you are the key to peace," Gaara stated.

Naruto smiled sadly and said. "Thanks…"

"Why the long face?" The red-haired Kazekage asked curiously.

"Did Sakura respond to you about the whole incident? Heard some news from other people that she and the rest of the leaf squad have flouted…" the blonde-haired ninja murmured.

Gaara, on the other hand, remained silent without trying to look at him.

Naruto noticed his reaction and said coherently with a sigh. "I know that they shouldn't have gone with their own plan, but I hope you all understand why they have to do it..."

The red-haired Kazekage still didn't glanced back until he repeated the word as a question. "Understand…? How so?"

"Yeah. I mean, we are all fighting together, right? This is a chance for them to do what's best for everyone…" Naruto said gently.

"Perhaps," Gaara answered shortly, then continued on to change the subject. "Naruto. You were going to every battlefield to identify all the spirits of our opponents. But I'm a jinchuriki, so I know and I worry. Is it really okay for you to be using that much of the Nine Tails' chakra?"

"I don't plan on dying before I become Hokage. Don't go treating people like they're little kids just because you're already a Kazekage. I'm going to go to the battlefield on the right. Gaara and old man Tsuchikage, you guys go to the left!" Naruto instructed as he hastily made his way onto the front, leaving the two alone.

Later on, Temari's team were struggling to defeat the third Raikage until Naruto's shadow clone came in and punched a huge blow right into his stomach upward. Temari's team was struggling to defeat the third Raikage until Naruto's shadow clone arrived in the scene and punched him through his stomach upwards, causing the enemy to fall back down. Gaara and Onoki also followed along to fight in their battle as well. Once the third Raikage collapsed on the ground, the rest of the shinobi felt a little relieved, but they weren't finished when the Mizukage declared that he noticed a sand shield was protecting the red-haired Kazekage. He wants to fight him since he is considered to be the strongest opponent for him.

During that time, they all used their techniques and other jutsus against each other. Then, Gaara had captured the Mizukage right in the spot where he wrapped him in the sand's grasp tightly, which formed into a gigantic pyramid. As a result, the enemy lost, yet he was very impressed by how high-skilled the red-haired Kazekage is.

"The hail that was mixed in with the sand was more than enough to cool him down and the gold makes a good conductor to draw away the heart of the water vapor and keep it cooled down," Gaara explained while looking up to the Mizukage's chained body.

"So in the end, you acted like a true Kage… You did well in thinking up this method. You know, you really are a golden boy.. You and that nine-tailed fox guy make a nie duo," he responded back with an amused grin.

"Really?" The red-haired Kazekage smirked as he slowly sealed him up securely back.

"It's been awhile since I had this much fun!" The Mizukage said happily to himself in mind.

A few minutes later, Muu, the Tsuchikage, suddenly appeared above them, much to their dismay.

"What the-?! Gaara sealed him, didn't he?" Naruto asked suspiciously in shock.

"He managed to split off a double of himself in that condition," Onoki said, gritting his teeth in annoyance.

"What's going on?" One of the shinobi asked.

"There's someone else up there!" The ninja man exclaimed.

Everyone noticed that the person who was standing beside Mu was none other than Madara Uchiha.

* * *

_TO BE CONTINUED..._


	18. Girl To Girl

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The leaf squad have been wandering for about two hours, searching constantly for Kabuto and the mysterious masked man. But there was no sign of them anywhere, so they kept on going to look further as they almost reached the mountain side. Even though they've been exhausted for quite a while now, they were still able to manage their energy. Kiba and Akamaru hopped on top of the rocks as they sniffed heavily a few times of the scents that were lingering around.

"I swear, they might be hiding here," the dark-brunette ninja said suspiciously.

"No way. There's no way that they're inside," Tenten shook her head doubtedly.

"Though, it does smell like a flower..." Ino said carefully, trying to pinpoint in skepticism.

"Hey. You're right," Choji stepped onto the rocks as he started sniffing through his nostrils and continued on, saying. "It's musky and fruity like sweet pea."

The others paused for a moment when they raised their eyebrows at him strangely until one of them snickered in amusement.

"What the-? Hahaha. Seriously? You actually know those kinds of fragrances. How gay," Kiba remarked loudly as he guffawed hysterically.

Ino rolled her eyes at his comment and retorted back defensively. "Only a guy wouldn't make fun of another guy just because he knows it. More likely, just by insulting him makes you even more gayer. I bet your mom tells you all the woman stuff that she mentioned to you before, so you can marry someone in the family. But wait... I doubt you will."

Tenten, Shino, Choji, and Sai tried to stifle their laughter with their mouths being covered by their hands, much to Kiba's annoyance.

"Grr... Shut up," Kiba muttered with a growl as he looked away, whereas Akamaru whimpered and sweatdropped at him in embarrassment.

On the other hand, Sakura was beginning to shiver a little while breathing stiffly at the sight of the dark tunnel. She noticed this and clenched her fists tightly in a grip, not thinking too much of what is about to expect.

"Hey... What's that over there?" Lee asked in puzzlement.

"There is a passageway, which may lead to where Kabuto and the masked man are. But not that it's a higher chance of them hiding there," Neji stated when he activated his Byakugan and examined through the layers of the walls of the mountain. Then, he saw a hooded figure standing in the middle and kneeling down on the ground to perform their own technique. "How...? What on earth is this person doing?"

Lee glanced at him worriedly. "What is it?"

"Strange..." Neji said without even looking at him directly in the eye as he was fixated on the person he was seeing.

"Huh?" Lee questioned blankly.

"Someone is here," Neji replied quietly.

"What? Who?" Ino wondered.

"Is it them?" Tenten asked.

"No. It's only one person, but this time... It's a lady," Neji answered, which astonished the rest of them.

"Bruh!! No fucking way," Kiba shook his head uncertainly.

"It's true," Hinata agreed as she was suspiciously observing the hooded lady performing her powers actively.

"Does she know that we are also here?" Sai asked in peculiar.

"Hmm. Maybe. Maybe not. But we don't know who this person is. She must be from our side or the enemy's. We must find out," Neji explained.

"This may not be good," the pink-haired kunoichi said softly. "If she knows we are outside from here, then she is trying to lure us into an ambush. I can't believe this is happening all over again. After all, I fought with my inner Sakura so intensely."

"How would you know that it will be like this?" Lee asked.

"Because... I have a hunch that this person has her own ulterior motive against me. My gut instincts are never wrong," Sakura answered plainly and anxiously remembering the time when she fought against her inner self.

"Okay, then. If that's the case, we have to go confront her with a serious interrogation," Neji said thoughtfully.

"Sakura, you should not jump to conclusions. There's no need to worry. That is why it's best to find out," Ino said reassuringly.

"What about the Akatsuki? Who's going to hunt them?" Ino questioned as her eyebrows furrowed.

"Good question. But I think we all need to go take them all together at once," Kiba suggested.

"They are very strong. I wouldn't recommend that since we all need to conquer and divide," Shino pointed out rationally.

"He's right. At least five members in two groups," Sai added monotonously.

"Ehh?! Aren't we doing this the same strategy over and over? Where did it get us to, huh?" Kiba asked sarcastically.

"Jeez. Shut your trap. We may have failed the first time, but this can be our second chance to actually redeem ourselves," Ino argued back and continued on. "Let alone risk it all or nothing at all."

"Hmm," Tenten nodded in agreement and insisted. "Yeah. If you're going to be blunt about this, then you might as well go head back to your division squad. Would you want that?"

Kiba posed himself calmly and answered shortly. "No."

"Good. Now, let's continue," Tenten sighed in relief.

"So are we going to divide now?" Lee mentioned as he looked back and forth between his teammates.

"Yes, we are," Neji answered.

"Okay!" Lee beamed.

"Alright, so you, me, Sakura, Sai, and Ino are in the group to identify the hooded lady," Neji instructed and went on. "Then, Hinata, Shino, Kiba, Choji, and Tenten will be proceeding to the next part of our plan to hunt down the Akatsuki, regardless of who you will encounter. Sound clear?"

"Yeah. We got it," Choji gave him a curt nod.

"No problem. I knew you would make a good choice of choosing each one of us to team up together," Tenten said chuckling impressively.

"Thanks. Anyway, let's go..." Neji said.

The rest of them nodded in confirmation, whereas the pink-haired kunoichi gazed down, sighing deeply to herself with contemplation in mind. The two groups began to separate from each other as the first one walked inside the dark tunnel while the second one resumed their search for Akatsuki's whereabouts.

"You ready? Because I'm not. What if this person is in disguise? Probably, she's wearing a different costume or something," her inner Sakura thought curiously in mind.

"Okay, now you are making me even more uneasy," the pink-haired kunoichi said in annoyance.

"Hey, chillax. I'm just thinking rationally," she said defensively.

"How is that rational? You're more likely creating these imaginary thoughts that you have there," Sakura rolled her eyes in irritation.

"Sorry... Hey, listen. We need to remind ourselves that we can't go extreme with our powers. Otherwise, we will not be able to withstand who we are fighting," she stated.

"I know. Thanks," Sakura said softly as she breathed in and out to calm her nerves.

Lee and Neji decided to use the candles they were holding, along with Sai and Ino following behind them. They noticed that the walls were damaged and a few insects were moving in each tiny holes.

"Hmm. I found it," Neji said shortly, using his Byakugan.

"Where?" Lee asked blankly.

"You see. There are three passageways. One is upnorth, east, and west," Neji answered.

"Are we splitting up again? This is becoming redundant," Ino groaned sluggishly.

"It is what it is," Sai quoted.

Ino looked at him with a boring stare and said. "You make it sound like things are so easy."

"I'm just trying to lighten up for us," Sai said.

"Right," the blonde-haired kunoichi sighed and glanced back at the front of where they were walking.

"Okay, guys. I think one person is going to have to take the upnorth... I'll do it. Neji, you go with Lee. Ino, you go with Sai," Sakura concluded.

"What?" They questioned confusedly in unison.

"It's too dangerous if you go alone. Why not three people and then the other two?" Lee pointed out clearly.

"Hey... We are all taking risks here. Please don't doubt me," the pink-haired kunoichi reasoned with her eyes narrowed.

"Sakura-" Lee got interrupted quickly.

"No. It's okay, just go on. I'll be fine," she nodded in reassurance.

Lee, Neji, Ino and Sai gave worried looks at each other, but accepted her decision.

"Alright. Suit yourself. Remember, we got each other's backs," Ino said smirking coolly.

"No problem," Sakura smirked back in determination and sighed. "Let's go."

"Right," they replied in unison.

From that moment on, they began to walk further into the three passageways without stopping. There was no malicious activity lurking around the corner, which they haven't sensed any other presence aside from the hooded lady figure that they discovered.

Meanwhile, the other division squads are having troubling fighting against Madara Uchiha and Muu, but thankfully, the current Five Kages joined together as they promised.

"Inferno Destruction!" The Uchiha exclaimed when he made hand signs that unleashed huge flames of fire towards them.

"That technique has a huge reach!" One of the shinobi allies yelled out, whereas he and the others have counterattacked hastily, using their Water Fortification jutsu. They spit long splashes of liquid out of their mouths, colliding in opposition to the flames.

However, they didn't know that he disappeared until he reappeared above them. They were slow to respond when Madara kicked his own foot through one of the shinobi's abdomen, much to their surprise. The Uchiha pulled out his sword and made a quick spinning move that slashed them off.

"Naruto! Hurry and have your clone go into that mode!" Gaara commanded.

"The truth is, I can't anymore! I used up too much chakra!" The blonde-haired ninja said coherently.

Then, Madara attempted to strike his own sword to the ninja's left side of his stomach, but Gaara immediately reacted to this by shielding him with his sand defense. The ninja didn't get injured or severely wounded. Instead, he fell back down on the ground safely.

"Sharingan!" Madara said as his eyes began to shift into a different transformation.

Another ninja suddenly froze into his own spot while he was holding his own huge sword, but was pushed back harshly with a loud cry of pain.

Aside from that, Muu formed his hands in the shape of a triangle that releases his power, much to Onoki's dismay.

"Crap. While my body is about to split apart, I can't use my dust techniques," he said, narrowing his eyes at him in frustration and reminded his allies out loud, saying. "Sensor types, keep your eyes open for Muu."

In just about a few seconds left, a voice shouted that alarmed everyone to their astonishment.

"Super Giant Ball Rasengan!" Naruto exclaimed, carrying a blue sphere using his right hand, ready to throw it across Madara's direction. Onoki initiated to use EarthCore Shift technique by placing his hands down on the ground, forming a tall square object that lifts Madara up to get hit by the Rasengan.

Unfortunately, the plan did not succeed when Madara ultimately dismissed it after summoning a gigantic purple creature. Thus, Naruto and his shadow clone were pushed back on the side, whereas the

Inside the darkest tunnels, Sakura stopped in front of the huge boulder as her eyes landed on the seal tag that was placed on the left side. She read the words that should be unsealed, so she activated it using her chakra. Once she pulled it off, the huge boulder automatically moved to the side, giving a little quake, opening the way to the empty space area.

The pink-haired kunoichi was glancing around the room until a girl hovered above her with a one swing motion of her kunai knife.

Sakura quickly looked behind her as she completely defended herself using the kunai knife she was gripping onto as well.

Both of the kunai knives clashed against each other in a loud ringing noise, making them stepped back against each other to guard themselves.

"You are one heck of a bitch," Katsumi sneered.

"I may be a bitch, but at least I don't go around snooping into other people's business and destroying lives. I guess I'm just allergic to fake," Sakura said and continued on. "Let me remind you. I've faced demons in battles and now, the next one is just right in front of me who needs a little saving."

"Hm. I think you should be the one who needs it, because all elsewhere, you're going to die where you belong," Katsumi screamed as she started attacking her with the kunai knives.

Sakura dodged them as she stepped back, but her eyes widened when Katsumi flashed behind her and knocked her with two purple metal spike balls that scratched her shoulder blades. The pink-haired kunoichi yelped out, but luckily it was only a substitution puffing out of smoke.

Katsumi growled in anger, yet decided to smirk maliciously as she landed her feet on the group with her hands holding the weapon. "Hmph."

The pink-haired kunoichi breathed out and questioned in concern. "Why are you doing this? I don't understand why you hate me so much."

"You don't get it... You see, I'm the one that Gaara loves. I'm the only person who is able to make his life complete. But no, you just decide to step in and ruin everything," Katsumi sneered.

Sakura shook her head in confusion and narrowed her eyes at her further. "What are you talking about? I never did anything to destroy your relationship with him. In fact, it's you who is ruining it yourself. Yet you have the audacity to step in and murder someone you barely even know. For your information, Gaara and I are just friends."

"Bullshit! Everytime I hear those 'we are only friends' thing is just utter bullshit. I know that there is something going on with you two," Katsumi cursed and pointed out angrily.

"Wow... You must be delusional," the pink-haired kunoichi chuckled slightly in sarcasm and gave her disappointed look on her face and muttered quietly. "I always thought that you are good for him. I thought that you trust him because you love him. I guess you don't..."

Katsumi raised an eyebrow and remarked. "You have no right to dictate that. I do love him more than you do. It just so happens that you've become such a pest in our lives. You're only jealous because he loves me."

"Jealous? Look who's talking..." Sakura said calmly, keeping her glare at her and continued on. "You must be hallucinated."

"How so?" Katsumi asked rhetorically as she quickly flashed out again and reappeared in front of her as she trapped her using an Purple Electrifying-Square Barrier successfully.

Sakura stumbled back on the ground, but got up as soon as possible. She looked around and threw the weapons out of her pouch, which backfired towards her stomach and legs that were starting to bleed.

"Argh!" The pink-haired kunoichi cried out at the shock waves, but she made sure that she stood up steadily despite the scratches around her.

"You're never going to escape. This barrier is not ordinary. This has a time limit. If you dare to make a single move or even try to break it using your pathetic techniques, it will electrify you. In addition, this will enclose you like a snap of a twig once your whole body is disintegrated into small pieces..." Katsumi described as her eyes glint wickedly at the sight of her exasperated look and continued on with a smile. "You have 5 minutes till you end up in hell."

Sakura inhales through her nostrils as she clenched her teeth in annoyance. "Damn it...!"

"Wait... I know a plan," Her inner self said confidently.

"What is it?" Sakura asked curiously.

"If we used one of our new techniques, we will be able to escape," her inner self stated.

"I don't think it's going to work. But you're right. We're going to try," Sakura agreed.

"Yeah. Let's take this bitch down," her inner self said grinning widely.

"Right on," the pink-haired kunoichi said as she started to close her eyes and tilt her head down to concentrate.

"What is she planning?" Katsumi glared at her in suspicion and called her out loud, saying maliciously. "You know, closing your eyes and meditating won't get you anywhere!! It's four minutes, you better say your little prayer before you lose your soul!"

At that moment on, the brunette girl started to laugh sadistically as she controlled the barrier to decrease the size of it, which began to torture Sakura by electrocuting her with the shock waves.

"Shit! She's manipulating it!" The pink-haired kunoichi groaned in pain, but continued to composed herself.

"Concentrate! Don't give in! We can do this!" Her inner self encouraged.

Then all of a sudden, her vision blacked out for a split ten seconds until they reopened again to see a light shining upon the beautiful creature in front of her. Sakura fluttered her eyelids to see it clearly in awe.

* * *

_TO BE CONTINUED..._


	19. Linkage

**Please read & review!**

* * *

Sakura blinked a few times to see the creature clearly in its own form. She walked towards it and slowly raised her hand to touch its beak. She caressed it gently, which made a soft growl in response to her kindness. Then, the creature gave her a curt nod as a way to exchange for its own power. The pink chakra began to circle around the pink-haired kunoichi's body that was immensely absorbing every particle within her from head to toe. She gasped out for breath when her eyes started to flutter open calmly. Her bright green eyes became rose gold, which turned into fierce and persistence.

Katsumi became dumbfounded and confused at the same time. "_Huh?! What just happened?" _

Sakura's lips curved into a smirk when she flexed both of her arms out that crumbled the walls of the barrier, making an electrifying damage buzzes on the ground noisily.

The brunette gasped in shock as she stepped back nervously at her sudden outburst, whereas the pink-haired kunoichi took a few more steps and began to charge with her tight fist attempting to pummel straight through her face.

But Katsumi defended herself by dropping a purple smoking powder to disappear. Sakura narrowed her eyes and looked around, though her enemy is nowhere to be seen.

"_Where is she?" She asked herself attentively. _

"_**No idea… But we must not lose our guard," her inner self noted firmly. **_

Suddenly, Katsumi pushed Sakura down aggressively with her hands as they both rolled over twice until she tried to slice her neck with her katana sword. The pink-haired kunoichi immediately reacted to this when she protected herself using the kunai knife she was holding with her right arm being raised. The two of them gritted their teeth and gave glares at each other with a slight grimace of indignation. Then, the pink-haired kunoichi kicked her foot hard upfront on her abdomen, which made the brunette flinched out a little, but smirked maliciously.

Sakura's eyes widened in shock when Katsumi gripped her katana sword tightly and stabbed her in the middle of her stomach. The pink-haired kunoichi coughed up blood and disappeared in a puff of smoke, much to the brunette's puzzlement.

"_What?! How could this be-" Katsumi questioned in anger until she felt an arm swung right across her back shoulders. _"Ahh!"

The brunette didn't have time to turn around since Sakura flashed so quickly right before her eyes when she got punched underneath the chin that caused her to fly back farther away from her in the distance.

"Chhhaaaaa!" The pink-haired kunoichi exclaimed when she made a punch that cracked the ground, giving a trembling quake.

Katsumi bolted upright and made a quick charge at her, attempting to attack her physically in combat with her punches and kicks.

Sakura kept dodging her attacks and twirled over the right side to smash her with her right heel of her foot, but missed out when the brunette jumped back again.

"You really think you can just defeat me using your human power strength?! I must say, you did me quite a favor," Katsumi said smiling menacingly when she performed the hand signs and placed her hands down on the ground with her eyes closed. "Summoning… Black Serpents."

The pink-haired kunoichi stood frozen on her spot when the snakes came out of the ground, slithering back and forth to bite onto her ankles. She flashed out and stood upon the huge rock, panting breathlessly.

The snakes went on Katsumi's sides as they continued to hiss in which she started to laugh sadistically with her eyes turning purple. "Ah… This is just the beginning. In fact, I quite enjoy taking over the powers of these forbidden scrolls."

"Scrolls?! Where did you… How did you-" Sakura became suspicious, but didn't get to finish her sentence.

"Stole them? Hah! It's pretty easy if you ask me. I managed to go through my fiance's office and just came across the room that has a vault with all of them. It took me six days to master these jutsus or techniques and I think I'm getting the hang of it, actually," Katsumi explained, smirking emotionlessly.

Sakura shook her head and protested furiously. "Those forbidden scrolls are not meant to be used… You've used them just to gain credibility from the others, including Gaara! Why?! You have everything you've always wanted. Everything you've dreamt of. But no… You're wasting it. You're wasting everything just for the sake of revenge against me."

"Well, I suppose that hatred is the new form of love, isn't it? Hate runs through the course of my veins, which I will gladly accept," Katsumi stated coldly.

"That makes no sense. You have no idea what you're saying. You must be out of your mind," the pink-haired kunoichi pointed out in disbelief.

"If I was, then I should murder you right here and now," Katsumi declared with a dark look in her eyes as she raised up her left arm to release the poison darts out of her palm towards her.

Sakura dodged again and began to dash for a run with her arms held behind her back. They were continuously shooting nonstop until she quickly used Multi-Blossom Shards and Double-Crane's Earth Edge techniques.

She grabbed Katsumi's arms and kicked her upright, then flashed above her head and blasted two punches onto her chest. In a few seconds, the brunette hit the ground and groaned in pain.

Meanwhile, Lee and Neji stopped by and heard several quakes as they watched the thick walls starting to crumble around the room that they were in. They couldn't hear any voices, so they tried to look for much evidence there is.

"What was that?" The green leaf ninja asked blankly.

The byakugan user examined deep within the surroundings and saw two girls fighting against each other, much to his astonishment. "It's Sakura and…"

"Huh?! Who?" Lee asked further in curiosity.

"Gaara's companion. Katsumi…" Neji answered, narrowing his eyes sharply.

"Shit. No way. What is she doing there? Wait? They're fighting?! This is not good," Lee murmured anxiously and looked away.

"You sound almost guilty when you say it like that," Neji said in peculiar.

"The thing is… I wrote a letter to Gaara that explains everything about the situation between him, Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto. Mostly towards their feelings…" Lee responded nervously.

"Why? It's not your job to do it. You're not responsible for what they feel or what they do. It's theirs. But from what I can see, I understand that you're doing this for the sake of all of their friendship," Neji nodded in thought.

"Yeah because Gaara needs to know the truth. Otherwise, he will regret his decision later on," Lee reasoned out.

"Alright. But again, that's his life and theirs," Neji pointed out.

Lee sighed tiredly and said. "Right. Whatever. So, Katsumi must have her own personal motive." He gasped horrifyingly when he came to realization, widening his eyes further. "No. She must've read the letter!"

"Obviously. No matter, we came all the way down here and now we have to find…" Neji trailed off his words when his eyes landed on the red light button that is linked to the chakra strings, leading to the other room where Sakura and Katsumi are. "I see!"

Lee glanced at where he was specifically looking at and asked. "What is?"

"Those chakra strings are connected to Katsumi's body," Neji figured and continued on. "That means, she's collecting as much energy from these stones of White Zetsu. She's part of the Akatsuki."

"Shit…! How is that possible? Since when did she join them?" Lee questioned, furrowing his bushy eyebrows in speculation.

"Before, Katsumi read the letter and traveled all the way here to seek power from them. Then, we came along and got ambushed by them and fought with them while she started hiding here…" Hyuga explained logically as he returned back to his normal vision. "It's no surprise that she would start acting like a jealous fiance."

"Love is complicated, right Neji?" Lee chuckled exhaustingly, rubbing the back of his head.

"Not really. Love is not complicated. People are," Neji stated, smirking in amusement and continued on. "It's not love itself, if you ask me. People create more problems and try to justify what love is from their perspective when in truth, it is love that brings sacrifice, risks, and commitment. What I'm sensing right now from Katsumi is far different from what she is feeling towards Gaara."

"How so? When I first saw her, I thought she was amiable. Not to forget that she's pretty," Lee said, placing his finger under his chin in thought.

Neji snorted silently and smirked knowingly. "That is another one way to find out. Come on. We have to deactivate them."

Lee nodded in agreement as he followed him to solve the issue that was occurring. However, the stone is surrounded by a dark energy. If they touch it, their chakra will be absorbed and would only strengthen Katsumi's powers.

On the other hand, Ino and Sai have also discovered another stone that was displayed on top of the rock. They quickly made their way to it and started examining the insides as well as the chakra strings being connected together.

"So that means that each passageway that we've entered is linked…" the blonde-haired kunoichi said surprisingly.

"Hm. I assume that the rest of them know what they need to do. The person here is not on our side. She's our enemy," Sai pointed out calmly.

"You've found out already?" Ino asked blankly.

"Yes. According to my messenger hawk, it gathered more information from where Sakura is. Apparently, the person she's fighting with is none other than Katsumi," Sai stated thoughtfully.

"Ahh! That bitch… I never expected that she would go this far. Alright, so what do we need to do?" Ino sighed frustratingly.

"We must figure out how to disconnect the chakra strings without letting our chakra get absorbed from the stone. Basically, we need to find an opposite method that alters the dark energy," Sai explained simply and continued on. "This shouldn't be that hard."

"Um… It is because scientifically speaking, you just gave an explanation about it. What is the opposite of dark? It's light," Ino answered, thinking carefully as she placed her hands on both of her hips.

"Light?" Sai repeated and asked. "In what way should we demonstrate this?"

"Heh. That's the thing. If one of us has the power of light, then we are able to defeat her," Ino said clearly.

Sai paused for a moment as he recalled the time when he watched the pink-haired kunoichi training by herself in the leaf village, third ground. He saw how she performed her jutsus and other techniques, which surprises him and decided to draw multiple artworks of her in his book. He wanted to show her and their friends, but it wasn't the right time yet.

"I think we have to try using our powers. We might somehow demilitarize the stone," Sai noted firmly as he pulled out his blank scrolls and started drawing different objects and animals slowly.

"It won't work anyway," Ino said hopelessly in concern.

"Well, we have no choice. We are just going to have to keep trying," Sai said, kneeling down on one of his knees for support without bothering to look at her as he continued to sketch.

Ino watched him, then looked away as she sighed once again, thinking about the strategies that she may used to damage the stone.

* * *

_TO BE CONTINUED..._


	20. Gaara's Solution

**Please read & review!**

* * *

Katsumi shielded herself with her purple defense and blinked for a second, only to see that Sakura disappeared. Then, she pummeled her on the back and as the pink-haired kunoichi swung her left leg using Earth Shock Wave with White-Blossom Crane techniques combined together.

The brunette gasped out of breath and shrieked. "AHHH!"

"It's over," Sakura stated calmly.

However, a smile began to creep upon Katsumi's face when she spoke malevolently. "Too bad."

Sakura widened her eyes in shock when the black serpents already bitten her ankles, filling up with much as poison as there is inside them, especially the rest of the intoxicated chemicals. Her vision started to blur into a slight haze of different hallucinations as the sound waves were ringing through her ears. She dropped down on one of her knees on the ground. She started coughing up blood on the ground and held her body steadily with her right arm for support.

"Do you really think you can defeat me with your puny little ass jutsus at me? Huh?! I'm glad that I took all of my time to set up the stones around this mountain that contains dark energy. They absorb every chakra if you hit me with a single strike. I'm able to take up all of your powers just like that. They come in pretty handy," Katsumi explained as she continued to watch Sakura suffer from the poison and hallucinations in amusement. She chuckled at this, saying. "Awww… Getting weak on the knees already? Don't worry, in the next two minutes. Your soul will be out of your body once your eyes start to shut down! Hahaha!"

The pink-haired kunoichi didn't respond to her after her head was tilted down. Her body was left in several scratches and bruises on her arms and legs. She quivered a little in pain since she ran out of her antidote tubes from her waist pack. From that moment on, she was breathing heavily until she slowed down and stopped instantly.

"_**You're wrong," her inner self spoke out firmly.**_

Katsumi raised an eyebrow in peculiar ways as she questioned. "What did you say?"

"You are wrong…!" Sakura looked up as she performed hand signs for the last time with every last bit of her strength as soon as possible. Her voice became deep when her chakra began to emerge with her inner half's, which brings out a light pink aura around them, much to Katsumi's puzzlement. "Ninja Art… Cherry Blossom storm!"

Then, the walls of the cave suddenly gave a loud roar, causing the rocks to tremble deliberately and pushing the brunette off of the surface. They started to swirl up into a huge tornado and smash the serpents into pieces as they disappeared off into dust.

Sakura quickly concentrated on her last chakra as she continued to gather all the rocks that were fusing before they became a gigantic boulder. She made a long circular motion three times and transformed it into a beautiful flower with pink petals that shine too brightly in front of their very eyes. Everything else around them continues to quake nonstop as it gets convulsively harsh, whereas the storm was spinning simultaneously. She held her hands together in a praying position and held onto the cherry blossom flower in her palms as her bright green eyes glowed intensely and exclaimed out loud. "Quaternary…!"

Katsumi questioned in confusion and annoyance. She took a few steps back and shook in fear at the sight of her transformation. "What?!"

"Ultimate Bloom!" The pink-haired kunoichi finished her sentence out loud as the flower started to burst out through beaming light rays that were appearing out of the petals and suddenly exploded. Everything went blank as the rocks were broken in half and walls had resolutely crumbled, resulting in havoc, much to Lee and the others' dismay.

A few seconds later, Sakura continued to pant shortly while gazing calmly at the brunette who slowly fell into her knees with her mouth open weakly.

"_**We did it… We made it!" Her inner self said proudly in an exhaustion tone of her voice. **_

"_Yeah. She's barely moving now…" Sakura said, feeling relieved in her mind. _

At that moment, she felt a huge poisonous sting that was currently running through her vessels, so her body collapsed down due to numbness and severe loss of blood. Her breathing was starting to shorten as well as her vision began to blur. She kept fluttering her eyes clearly, but there were voices calling out to her as their footsteps were approaching, then it all turned into blackout.

On the other hand, the blonde-haired ninja got startled at that moment when his senses came into notice. He glanced around to hear the whispers until he realized that they are not inside his head after all.

"Hey, Naruto, What's wrong?" One of the shinobi allies asked in concern.

"My friend… She's…" he murmured softly.

"Huh?! Did anything happen?" He asked further skeptically.

"We can try to find her," the second ninja ally volunteered willingly as the others nodded in agreement.

"No, it's alright," Naruto shook his head disapprovingly, politely and continued on. "Our friends are looking after her. Anyway, we should get going."

"Hmm," they replied back in unison.

Later on, the rest of Temari's division squad had been having trouble fighting against Madara, who recently absorbed every power that the shinobi used. But they didn't know that Kabuto was in control of the dead bodies of the enemies. The Uchiha was standing next to Muu as they discussed the issue.

"I awakened these eyes shortly before my death. Kabuto, you said something didn't you…? Did you do something to this body?" Madara asked blankly.

"I already told you. You've been completed beyond what you were in your prime," Muu explained, but Kabuto was the one talking in his voice.

"You bastard. You've taken advantage of the secrets of my body. Someone like you who can't even read the stone monument of Uchiha. You deciphered them?" Madara questioned in annoyance.

"It was based on a hypothesis crafted from the data Orochimaru and I gathered after many years of research. And now, you are proof that our hypothesis was correct. The sage of the six paths. I can now touch a fragment of that God's power. With your power, I've created…" Muu said maliciously.

"Don't get the wrong idea. You didn't create this power," Madara remarked calmly as he summoned a gigantic ball of rock above the sky that shook everyone in horror.

"What is this?" The other ninja asked nervously.

"This is on an entirely different level…" Temari said, panicking on the inside as the sweats on her side temples were beginning to form.

"Is this… the power of God…?" Gaara questioned, feeling speechless.

As soon as the gigantic earth rock ball was descending down upon the land, Onoki made a quick move by flying up in the air and placed both of his hands upon it. He used Earth Release: Ultra-Light Weight Rock technique that reduces the amount of pounds the boulder has and musters every last strength he has within him.

"_Just a little more. I can stop it with just a little more push…" the old man Tsuchikage said, growling to himself in thought. _

"Hm. Now how would you deal with the next stack, Onoki?" Madara asked darkly in a low tone of his voice.

The second boulder sat on top of the first one, which caused the Tsuchikage to lose his strength.

Meanwhile back in the hidden cloud conference building, Tsunade and the rest of the allies have received the recent information and sudden uproar from the others. They already knew that Madara Uchiha was resurrected and would do nothing to gain power and destroy, using a large rock to obscure the entire sky to drop on the fourth division squad.

"_This is a disaster. We are losing many of them…" Inoichi thought in frustration while both of his hands were placed on the bubble satellite._

"There's no mistaking it. Lady Tsunade, at this rate-" Shikaku glanced around quickly in panic.

"I'm heading out!" She replied back with a death glare in determination and stormed off the room.

Outside the middle of the desert, the team has been affected by Madara's powerful jutsu, which causes a lot of damage on their behalf. The impact was so strong that most of the allies could barely move an inch, yet Naruto had the strength to approach the old Tsuchikage in concern.

"Old man?!" He called out.

"Don't worry, he's alright," one of the shinobi informed gently and continued on. "But his injuries are severe."

"I see…" Naruto understood this.

During that time while Madara and Kabuto, who's inside Muu's body, were discussing what they should do next to obliterate every single one of the shinobi in the fourth division squad. Then, Naruto closed his eyes and asked for Kurama's help and as soon as he did, the nine-tailed fox's chakra started to consume his entire body, giving him more power. A few minutes later, Naruto charged against them and performed his Multi-Shadow Clone technique, carrying each Rasengan on their hands. The counterattack became successful, much to the other's relief at how Naruto saved them. Though, he was feeling drained out from all the energy he used. Luckily, Gaara came to his side and held his shoulder with his arm.

"We shinobi spend our whole lives in battles. Fighting only for our own countries, our own villages. Never empathizing with others, only taking for ourselves! The hatred has boiled over into world war three times already," Onoki explained reasonably as he looked up at where Madara was standing.

"That is the cycle of life. How have you lived so long, yet learned nothing from our painful past?" The Uchiha questioned skeptically.

"I've lived a lot longer than you, and I've learned more too! It's because I understand the suffering of the past that I can think of a better way to create our future!" Onoki argued back boldly.

"And that better way… is a fourth ninja world war?" Kabuto in Muu's body said, smirking slyly.

"When I look at them, I realize how we aren't simply leaving a record. We're building on our past mistakes. Very slowly, but steadily getting better… Moving towards peace," Onoki concluded.

"There's no point in this world changing any further. Mankind will be better served sleeping peacefully in the Infinite Tsukuyomi," Madara confided.

"I lost sight of who I was because of you. But this time, I will pick myself up and rediscover who I am!" Onoki stated and stood up slowly, declaring. "You're the one going to sleep."

Gaara looked over his shoulder as he noticed that Onoki was starting to collapse again due to injury. He looked back to the front and said calmly with his eyes narrowed at the two enemies. "Let's all pick ourselves up…"

At that moment, the red-haired Kazekage has a backup plan in his mind that he will soon inform Naruto, Temari, and Onoki.

This was only just the beginning for them.

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_TO BE CONTINUED..._


	21. Misfortune, Miss-fortune

**Please read & review!**

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The dream that she had was certainly not a pleasant one, other than the place she's in was a complete total nightmare. Blood was dripping from every shinobi's corpses as she watched her friends get tortured and beaten up brutally by the Akatsuki. A dark-haired man slowly looked up with a sadistic smirk as his eyes shifted into Mangekyou Sharingan, whereas the full moon turned into red. Everyone else was trapped inside the white cocoons, fully covered.

The pink-haired kunoichi gasped out loud as her eyes fluttered wide open and pulled herself up in a sitting position. She began to cough involuntarily until the others glanced quickly at her direction.

"Sakura!" Ino called out in surprise. She knelt down to check her current temperature by placing her palm on her forehead. "You alright?"

"It seems as if you had a bad dream," Neji guessed correctly in a calm tone of his voice while crossing his arms.

"The best way to get rid of them is to drink water and turn on the music. Sadly, we don't have one," Lee advised, then frowned.

"Well, I can draw a flute and make it," Sai pointed out in the suggestion.

"Yeah, but nobody knows how to play that instrument. Unless we are one of those hidden sound village guys," Ino retorted with a soft giggle.

"No. It's fine. It's just..." Sakura shook her head in decline and stared deeply down at her hands in thought, saying. "The dream I had recently felt almost real to me. I was caught up in some sort of trance and tried to yell or scream out for help. I was able to stand up and watch the whole world fall into a deep sleep. One person had a Mangekyou Sharingan and was in control of everything... It gave me more than strange feelings. I do not know if it's a dream, but most likely, it's a sign."

Ino and the others paused for a moment in silence and looked at each other quizzically before they spoke up.

"How so?" She asked curiously.

"A dream showing you a warning? That sounds interesting," Neji repeated and nodded in thought.

"Maybe there's a possibility that it may or may not happen in the future. Who knows?" Lee said blankly.

"You have to go believe me, guys. This one is telling me something..." Sakura sighed in exasperation.

"We understand. Right now, we got to find more clues and evidence to prove that the dream you had is predictable," Neji stated as the rest of them nodded in agreement.

Sakura gazed at the rocky walls, then came to realization after she regained her consciousness by asking them. "By the way, what happened to Katsumi? Where is she?"

Ino sighed in disappointment and said. "She got knocked out. Apparently, the white Zetsu and that masked man came by and took her away."

"Huh? Why? So you guys let her escape?!" The pink-haired kunoichi questioned in dismay.

"Sakura. We didn't have a choice, alright. We ran out of our chakra after deactivating the stones," Ino said firmly.

"She's right. Plus, they didn't appear just to fight us again. The Akatsuki obviously has another hidden agenda to execute the people," Sai added in while he was currently drawing a huge white bird on the gigantic scroll he laid on the ground.

"True. What plan could that be?" Ino wondered.

"I don't know. Whatever it is, it will be worse than what we thought," Lee replied back with a slight frown and continued on. "Anyway, we got to leave this place."

Ino gave a curt nod, whereas Neji looked around to see the exits of the cave.

"Okay. Looks like we are good to go," Sai confirmed as he stood up and patted the dust off of his legs and gestured his pointed finger. "We'll fly over the top right and head on to meet the rest of the group."

Lee, Neji, and Ino nodded in understanding.

Sai's eyes hovered towards the pink-haired kunoichi's direction and asked for reassurance. "Is that okay for you, Sakura?"

She stared at him and blinked a few times and nodded with a thin smile. "Yeah."

"Right, hop on!" Sai exclaimed as soon as they followed his instruction. They stepped on top of the white bird's back until it started to flap its wings in the air and they soared out of the cave.

During that time, Tsunade, A, and Mei had already teleported in front of the fourth division squad, especially Madara and Kabuto, much to their astonishment. Raikage A stopped Muu's attack on them as well as Tsunade, who used Yin Seal Release: Ninja Art Genesis Rebirth technique against Madara's.

"Granny Tsunade?!" Naruto questioned in shock.

"Hmm. They're all still alive. We're right on time," Mei said impressively.

"I can finally cut loose. I've been waiting for this for days!" Raikage A sneered furiously in hype.

"We're all here," Tsunade announced, narrowing her eyes.

"Being old has its perks," Onoki stated and continued on with a daring look on his face. "To think I'd live to see the days. When the five Kages would stand and fight together!"

On the other hand, the real Naruto and Killerbee had been traveling through the forest to find more enemies, then they stumbled upon the masked man in surprise.

"Hehehe..." the masked man chuckled maliciously, which puzzled the two jinchurikis.

"You can call me by my old name Tobi, if you prefer," he suggested with his hands laid out and continued on in delight. "The war has already begun. My name no longer matters. Madara, Tobi... Call me whatever you want."

"Who-who the hell are you?" Naruto questioned skeptically.

"I'm no one. I don't want to be anyone. All I care about is completing the moon's eye plan. The world is completely worthless. There is nothing left in it but misery," Tobi said sternly and continued on. "You two have grown up as the hosts for tailed beasts, and you have endured the misery that comes with that role, have you not? You should both understand that a little."

"Living with a tailed beast inside you isn't all bad," Naruto pointed out defensively, which stunned Kurama, who was listening to him intently while resting in his cage. "You can call yourself no one and start a war. But even in this world, you think of it as 'worthless.' No one's falling for your stupid ass lies. You can change your mask and take on any names you like. But you're still you and only one guy. I've had enough. I'm going to tear that mask right off your face!"

Then, the blonde-haired ninja made a few hand signs to perform one of his powerful techniques, including Killerbee pumped his fist up in the air, ready to fight him.

"Oh really? If you do, then you both have to work for it," he said, revealing the rest of the resurrected jinchurikis behind and beside him.

At that moment, Sakura's eyes widened in bewilderment and cried out at the throbbing pain she felt in her whole body. She dropped on one of her knees and tried to be steady with herself.

"Ahhh!" She groaned.

Ino looked behind her shoulder and turned around in concern. "Sakura?! You alright?!"

"Arghh..." She couldn't answer since the terrible sensation was triggering her.

"I think you need another shot of antidote," Ino said hurriedly as she pulled off the cap of the tube and inserted the needle through both of her arms.

A couple of seconds later, Sakura was back to her normal breathing until a few bright purple veins started to cover her neck until it reached down to her wrists. Though, they disappear quickly, much to the others' confusion and suspicion.

"What the hell are those?" Lee asked worriedly, looking down on Sakura's arms.

"I'm currently checking... It seems as if they're already attached to her arteries. They are harmless, which is unusual," Neji pointed out with his Byakugan eyes.

Sakura reminded them calmly while Ino was helping her up to stand. "Don't worry, I'm fine. Maybe the poison was still stuck in some parts of my body that I could hardly recover properly."

"Okay, if you say so. But remember, we are looking out for each other here. If anything goes wrong, please let us know," Lee informed kindly.

Sakura nodded in response simply as she watched them turn their attention to the front to see where they're going. "Hmm. Roger that..."

She then examined both of her hands in front of her face and asked herself in mind._ "This feeling again...? Why is it coming back?"_

From that moment on, she was starting to find it apprehensive on what the purple veins represent on her body. She wondered if they are more than just a regular poison.

* * *

_TO BE CONTINUED..._


	22. The Curse

**Please read & review!**

* * *

The five Kages and the allies have used different strategies to stop Madara and Kabuto from proceeding onto his next wicked schemes. The Akatsuki were immune to their attacks by dodging all of them.

Concurrently after they began to fight back with their jutsus, Tobi and the seven resurrected jinchurikis were facing Naruto and Killerbee, echoing the forest with his chuckling.

"I guess I forgot to mention it to you," he said, smirking at them.

"What do you mean?" The blonde-haired ninja asked blankly.

"I'm sure your dearest friend Haruno will love the parting gift that one of my colleagues have sent," Tobi stated gleefully with a mischievous grin.

Naruto's eyes widened and narrowed them in anger as he questioned. "What the hell did you do to her?! You better start answering or else, I will kill you right here!"

Killerbee placed his hand on his shoulder and said quietly. "He's only provoking you."

Tobi continued to smile calmly at him underneath his mask by saying. "It's simple. Once it consumes her, she will never be the same."

"Why? How the hell did that happen?! Huh?! Tell me!" The blonde-haired ninja interrogated vehemently in rage, clenching his fists tightly.

"Bro… Calm down. Don't let your emotions get in the way," Killerbee assured him lightly in a whisper.

Yet, Naruto ignored his friend and warned the man in front of them. "I swear… If anything happens to Sakura, I will make sure you never get to see the light ever again, because I will never let your hand's lay upon my friends…! You got that?!"

Killerbee stared at him speechless, whereas Tobi looked at him for a moment and broke into a slight demeanour laughter.

"Here I am giving you answers. Looks like I've pushed you off to the edge, didn't I? Well, don't worry. She will be just fine and you will see her when you two meet," he concluded simply.

Then, Killerbee began to charge as he held the knife in his mouth.

"Wait, Bee!" Naruto yelled out.

Killerbee uses his other sword and makes a swinging motion to attack one of the jinchurikis who is none other than Fuu. But he missed when she flew up in the air using her wings. He was impressed by how smooth her moves were until he flicked off the next weapon that consisted of shark teeth striking towards her direction. However, it hit the wall, which became futile. Naruto, on the other hand, was watching them fight, then he turned his attention on the rest of the jinchurikis, much to his frustration.

_He clenched his fists tightly and asked himself in his mind. "Shit. I can't take these guys all at once. I have to take them on one by one. How should I do that? If I attack one of them, another one will come after me…"_

The blonde-haired ninja stood on his spot while he was thinking of another strategy and looking back and forth at their figures.

At that duration of period, the five members of the leaf squad were currently traveling around to look for their other teammates. As soon as they did, they all hopped onto the huge white bird's back while Sai was navigating the way.

"So you've encountered Katsumi and the masked man?!" Choji asked shockingly.

"By all means, yes we did," Neji answered.

"Ugh! How and why?!" Tenten questioned in astonishment.

Neji glanced at Lee and urged him to respond.

"Uhh. You see… I may have written a letter to Gaara, but then Katsumi must've went through his belongings in the office and read it about the situation," the green leaf ninja explained nervously as he rubbed the back of his head and continued on with an anxious laugh. "It's mostly towards their feelings."

"What?! Yo, you just made the dumbass move ever!" Kiba pointed out, trying to stifle his laughter.

"I didn't mean it, I made sure that Gaara is the only one who will read it-" Lee protested but didn't get to finish his sentence.

"You would know that Katsumi is the second person to be entrusted with all the information that is given to the Kazekage, right?!" Tenten stated in annoyance.

"Yeah, I didn't know…" Lee murmured in remorse.

Tenten sighed and said thoughtfully. "Jeez, it shouldn't be your responsibility to remind him that. At least you are all safe. Who knows what Katsumi will do next? I'll be honest with you, I don't like her, but maybe she has a good reason to resent us."

"A good reason doesn't necessarily mean it's the right thing," Shino pointed out.

"Agreed," Hinata muttered softly.

"Hmm. I guess," Tenten noted.

On the contrary, they continued to discuss further with what had happened back inside the mountain cave amongst themselves. Ino was looking at the left side view of the beautiful landscape while she was looking after Sakura, who was sleeping serenely, yet did not notice that the bright purple veins was covering her right arm and reached to the side of her face. Slowly, they dissolved inside her body, which nobody suspected, not even the Hyugas' that it was more than just a seal.

Later on after the jinchurikis have exploded the forest area, they powered up into their tailed-beast transformation, much to Naruto and Killerbee's angst. After fighting against them, Naruto was trapped in between the surroundings of Tobi. He was lying down, helplessly trying to get up from his spot. He was watching Tobi attempting to grab his face with one hand until two leaf jounins arrived just in time to stop the attack.

Guy quickly swung his leg towards Tobi's back, whereas Kakashi immediately grabbed Naruto's body and both landed safely on the ground away from the enemy.

"Two more maggots will change nothing. Not before the power of the tailed beasts and my eyes!" Tobi exclaimed.

"Don't forget, we have a sharingan between us too," Kakashi pointed out boldly.

"And the noble green beast of the hidden leaf," Guy said, smirking coolly.

Both of them were facing against Tobi and the rest of the jinchurikis, proceeding onto their next battle.

* * *

_TO BE CONTINUED..._


	23. Partition

**Please read & review!**

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After Inoichi and Shikaku had announced that Naruto would be standing on his grounds in the battlefield, everyone had the motivation to willingly fight the Akatsuki. They were all moved by their speech and would do everything to act upon their own will as a shinobi. Once the leaf squad had landed on the sandy surface, they hopped down from the bird's wings as soon as Sai made it vanished into little pieces of paper. They saw the shinobi allies staring at them in confusion. Although, the fourth division commander Gaara and his sister Temari began to approach them in puzzlement and curiosity, wandering off in their thoughts full of questions.

"Care to explain why you all head out from each of your teams?" The red-haired Kazekage asked while gazing at them calmly. "Who started this whole quandary?"

The members were looking at each other as they gave a warning look of urging one of them to speak up to him.

"I did," a familiar voice called out deeply, much to their startlement.

They all looked behind their back, watching her taking a few steps forward with her fists holding down beside her hips, which further shocked Ino and the girls on the left side.

She had a brave expression on her face and said proudly. "I'm the one who took the initiative to go after the Akatsuki."

Temari gasped slightly and asked worriedly. "You know that they're very powerful, right?"

"I know, but I just want to take this chance and to quickly reduce the amount of enemies we have around us," Sakura reasoned out.

"That time when you and your friends suddenly broke the rules to fight them all on your own? Without my consent?" The red-haired Kazekage questioned sternly and continued on. "I'm disappointed in all of you."

The leaf squad gazed at him with a frown, whereas Neji decided to explain.

"We may have failed to succeed in our plans, however, we at least discovered something even more unusual," he pointed out calmly.

"What is it?" Temari asked blankly.

"We have witnessed someone who is none other than Katsumi. Apparently, she's one of them. It's hard to say how she ended up in their organization. But I doubt that you trust everything I'm telling you," the Hyuga closed his eyes for a moment.

"Supposedly. If she is, then show me the evidence," Gaara insisted while staring at them invariably, making them uncomfortable. But Neji and Shino didn't budge until the pink-haired kunoichi pulled out a bright pearl bracelet out of her pouch and held it in front of him.

"Here, does this prove enough to you?" Sakura asked firmly.

"No. It doesn't because that's clearly not her accessory that I gave her," Gaara shook his head in disbelief.

"What?! But she wore that yesterday! We saw it, didn't we Sai?" Ino was bewildered and glanced at him beside her.

"Yeah… It seems that she must have switched it. We probably didn't even notice at the moment she did," he answered simply.

The red-haired Kazekage stared at them and said coldly. "I'm only going to say this once and I do not like to keep repeating myself. All of you need to face the consequences for breaking the rules of the shinobi alliance."

"That is completely absurd! We did what we could. Your fiancee is part of the Akatsuki, so why don't you just believe everything we tell you?!" The pink-haired kunoichi raised her voice in frustration.

"Because you don't have the evidence! You failed miserably this time. To think that you would actually go this far and stoop so low and point fingers at her accusingly. I hate to break this to you, but you are all banned from your division squads," Gaara declared angrily and continued on to scold them. "I'll be sending messages to your leaders soon."

"Unfair! You're being unfair, Gaara! We never did anything wrong or even put the lives of others in danger when you should be thanking us right now that we found out the truth about Katsumi," Sakura retorted back defensively, narrowing her eyes grimly at him.

"And did you ever? You wouldn't know anything about her. I've known her since my childhood," the red-haired Kazekage glared at her.

"Maybe you don't. She didn't show you the other side of her," Sakura pointed out.

"Because she doesn't have any. Someone like you who has…" Gaara remarked hostilely. "Your reckless move is foolish."

Suddenly, a loud slap echoed through the desert areas and rocky hills after the pink-haired kunoichi swung her hand across his face, much to the others' appall. They stood there in silence, causing an awkward tension between the two friends. Temari, on the other hand, looked at them uneasily and felt that this wasn't going well.

Sakura's eyes were glistening nervously as she repeated slowly in a quiet, solid tone of her voice. She breathed out by saying. "Having a backup plan will lower down the chance of Akatsuki invading the villages and must eliminate them at all costs. Even though we were unsuccessful, it doesn't mean we should give up right away. That is no way to neglect us..."

Then, she started to shove her shoulder against his and walk away from the circle.

"Sakura! Where are you going?" Temari asked concernedly.

"Nowhere… My job here is done," she concluded without glancing back at them and hopped out of their sight.

Lee looked at Neji and said softly. "I'll go after her. If you guys want to follow us, then that would be great."

The Hyuga nodded in understanding, whereas Hinata became saddened, including Ino and Tenten.

"I guess we are not needed then. Come on, guys," Kiba commented and rolled his eyes at the red-haired Kazekage. He scoffed by saying to them. "Pfft. Some leader, eh?"

They hopped out together as well, leaving him and Temari alone in the spot.

His sister walked over to his side and asked him with her eyes narrowed in despondency. "Gaara… Why?"

The red-haired Kazekage said quickly. "They need to face the consequences."

"Yeah, but not like this… They were only trying to help us," Temari pointed out.

"Help?" Gaara repeated and continued on with a glare. "They almost died out there in the forest and mountain side. I'm preventing them from fighting in a battle."

"Is this going to benefit them and everyone else around? Think about it. What if they are right?" Temari asked further and gestured her hands out tiredly.

"We'll figure out a way. If what they said was true, then I need to talk to Katsumi," the red-haired Kazekage said quietly, staring at the front monotonously.

Temari was shaking her head and said exasperatingly. "Sometimes, I really want to knock some senses into you, you know that. You can be very stubborn when it comes to making decisions."

"We are at war. What else do you want me to do?" The red-haired Kazekage stated.

"That's not what Gaara would say…" Temari remarked and disappointedly started walking away from him.

The red-haired Kazekage got startled when she pointed it out, which made him feel mixed emotions. He didn't make any movements as he was left alone in his mind. Guilt? Penitence? Perhaps, he was starting to understand them now.

From that moment on, Sakura was traveling away from the desert area while she was running at a fast pace. She wiped her tears from her cheeks and sniffed downheartedly.

"_I might as well continue this plan myself. I do not care if I die alone, but I care if they die…" the pink-haired kunoichi said boldly in mind. _

She never wanted them to experience a lot of pressure and face more difficulties. She wanted to lessen them, so they do not have to suffer that much. It was never too late to do what must be done in order for the world to regain hope and peace once again. The question is, what is the next step for her and her teammates?

* * *

_TO BE CONTINUED... _


	24. SOS

**Please read & review!**

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The rain was constantly pouring down heavily on the ground just when Sasuke had arrived in time at some part of the forest alone by himself. Then, he was cornered by a few white Zetsus.

"You already found me," the dark-haired ninja said coolly.

"Why are you here?" They interrogated curiously.

"I don't have any reason. I passed through two cities before coming here but they were empty. I thought that the situation out here was strange but do you know anything about this?" He asked.

"We are the ones asking questions here. Why did you come outside?" The white Zetsu questioned again vehemently.

"If you don't like me to be here, why don't you try to capture me? You even have a lot of people on your side this time," Sasuke said, smirking in a daring way.

"You! Could it be that you killed our original?!" One of the white Zetsus was astonished, further narrowing his eyes at him.

"This time, I'm facing a group of opponents. That's good. I should obtain a certain amount of feedback," he pointed out until the rest of them began to charge at him. But he was quick enough to summon the Susanoo right in front of their faces after activating his Sharingan. He controlled one of them and continued on, saying. "This is a war. I have to defeat my enemies. That Tobi. It seems that he waged it, huh."

"We have to seize Killerbee and Naruto. We must hurry. His comrades are gathering to the place where he is…" the white Zetsu informed him while he was in a state of trance.

The wicked smirk began to form on Sasuke's lips and declared. "Well, I guess it's time to go to that place then because I will kill him."

During that moment in the farthest desert, the pink-haired kunoichi was trying to keep her eyes open as soon as she started to lose consciousness due to the purple veins that were immensely enlarging from her arms to her feet. She gagged dark liquid out of her mouth, using her right hand and was shocked. The purple veins had been attached to her since the moment she first passed out. Willingly, she doesn't want to experience this twice. Unfortunately, they were already afflicting her and for some reason, she has no idea what they are.

Sakura began to take short amounts of breaths, then landed quickly on the nearest rocky hill. After seven minutes of rest, she started to recall back on the argument she had with Gaara. Somehow, she doesn't know if she should feel guilty or not, just by opposing him with her plans.

_"Now what…? I feel heavy. These veins. Where did they come from?" She asked suspiciously in her mind as her forehead was forming sweat drops._

She wiped them off and hissed. "Damn. It's taking over my bones as well."

_"Hold on. I'm trying to figure out," her inner self said hurriedly._

_"There's not enough time. We got to keep moving forward," the pink-haired kunoichi stated, then unzips her porch to grab four tiny tubes of antidotes and insert the needle into her arms and legs._

_"I think I know now," her inner half said softly._

_"__What is it?" Sakura asked blankly with her eyes closed._

_"It's very baffling… Those purple veins are part of the 'curse,'" she stated, much to her horror._

_She gasped in her mind and questioned angrily. "What the hell do you mean by that? What curse?! Nobody ever placed anything on me."_

_"Really? Because I'm sure there is. We both have it. What's worse is that you and I are connected, which makes the curse grow even stronger and excruciating for us to experience," her inner half explained simply and continued on in curiosity. "Come to think of it, the last battle we had was with Katsumi. The weird thing is that we never saw her do something in front of us or felt anything from her, right? Don't you find that quite dubious?"_

_The pink-haired kunoichi didn't respond back and thought about the fights she had recently._

_"Hello, Sakura? Are you there?" Her inner half called out._

_"Yes. I do find it odd…" she answered._

_"Hmm. Seems like the argument you have with is weighing you down, I see," she guessed correctly._

_The pink-haired kunoichi looked away and tried to hold back her tears._

_"Hey, listen. This may be tough for us at this moment. Surely, this won't last a lifetime. I guarantee that. Okay? We are in the middle of war here and it's just the beginning. Whatever it is that Gaara can't understand, he will come to realize that he's believing the wrong person. He has no idea what he's thinking right now because he's blinded by the illusion of someone who he thinks is perfect for him. Guess what? Katsumi is not perfect at all, despite her beauty and charm. I'm certain that he will see further into what she is. How rotten and despicable that girl is. Now, we just got to find out what the main root of this curse is happening to us and how we can eliminate it as soon as possible," her inner half pointed out determinedly._

_The pink-haired kunoichi giggled and said with a smile. "You never stopped giving up, do you?"_

_"Not at all. I'm here for you always. That's why you and I should trust each other more and believe that everything will be just fine. Better days will come. I promise," her inner half said smiling back at her._

_"Thanks, Sakura," the pink-haired kunoichi said grinning heartwarmingly._

_"Anytime," she said and stuck her tongue out with a peace hand sign._

Then, as soon as the pink-haired kunoichi fluttered her eyes open, she narrowed her eyes boldy at the front surface of the desert and declared with a low tone of her voice deeply saying. "Alright. Let's do this."

She stood up and fixed her headband on top of her head as well as she tightly secured her gloves.

Meanwhile, Naruto and the five Kages had been separated into different battles with the enemies. Tsunade was mostly the one to fight against Madara more since they've known about their past history.

"Now, it's five vs. one. Please don't call me a coward, you're the five Kage after all. I'll ask you one question," the Uchiha said and continued slyly. "Do you prefer the clones to you Susanoo or not…?"

The five Kage stood on their spots and waited for the right moment to attack. Inside Kabuto's hiding place, Sasuke and Itachi had met up with each other and had a conversation about which side he was on until they both encountered the real enemy. This was a battle for the two Uchiha brothers.

A couple of minutes later, the green leaf ninja kept running as his eyes were wandering around the desert area, searching for her.

_"Where are you? Please be near," he hoped worriedly in thought._

When he saw a slender figure with short pink hair, he found Sakura tying her pouch around her waist tightly. He called out to her loudly by asking. "Hey! Are you okay?!"

The pink-haired kunoichi spun around to look at the person and nodded in response. "Yeah, I am. What are you doing here? I thought you and the others have left already."

Lee sighed and rubbed the back of his head, saying. "Not really. We were all worried about you. For a minute, we thought that you are in some sort of trouble again."

Sakura huffed a little and shook her head. "I'm fine. Anyway, we shouldn't stay here for longer."

She started walking away, which confused Lee.

"Wait, wait. Sakura," he grabbed her arm gently and asked. "I thought we were going to go back to our friends."

The pink-haired kunoichi stared at him for a moment and refused. "No. It's up to them to follow us. Right now, I have plans in my mind. I know how we can defeat the Akatsuki, but there is something that you need to know…"

"What is it?" Lee asked blankly in puzzlement.

"I have these purple veins attached to me and my inner half said that I'm-" Sakura got interrupted.

"Cursed?" A familiar voice mentioned out loud from the distance, which startled the both of them.

They turned around to see who it was and narrowed their eyes at the figure on top of the rocky surface.

"Miss me?!" The white Zetsu asked gleefully in delight and jumped down from the hill. He approached them slowly and stopped in front of them with his hands held out in gesture. "Looks like the beast and the freak have decided to go together and conquer the world. How cute."

"First of all, never call her a freak. And secondly, you should be gone by now!" Lee yelled out.

"Lee…" Sakura muttered quietly as she glanced at him with a frown.

"Really? Let's see who will be gone first then. Shall we?!" The white Zetsu began to extend his arms and sharpen his fingers, forming them into claws.

Lee and Sakura once again prepared themselves into a combat position with both of their fists held out, ready to fight him in their next set of battle.

* * *

_TO BE CONTINUED..._


	25. Between The Lines

**Please read & review!**

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"What's it going to be, little tards?" The white Zetsu's arms were floating in the air with a wide sadistic grin on his face.

Lee started to take a few steps forward, puzzling Sakura in surprise. He was standing in front, facing his back on her and said. "Go."

"Huh?! What are you-?" The pink-haired kunoichi furrowed her eyebrows bewildered without ever finishing her sentence.

"Just go," the green leaf ninja ordered firmly, much to Sakura's eyes widening in shock. He continued on, saying. "This is your chance to go and find Katsumi and confront her."

"But your condition will-" the pink-haired kunoichi protested.

"It doesn't matter. I will be fine on my own. Like you and the rest of us have said. This is our fight. We cannot lose. At that time in the forest of death during our second chunin exam, I wasn't able to protect you from those sound ninjas and how I wish I could have. But I've learned something from it when I was helpless and weak. It gave me more motivation to keep training, to keep growing stronger. All of my life. I've been wanting to save the people I care about, despite the struggles and hardships I've endured. You and I agree on this plan, so there's no backing out now," Lee stated after looking back at his dreadful moments, whereas the pink-haired kunoichi looked at him with a gloomy smile. "Leave him to me."

She stood in silence, then nodded in agreement. "Hmm. Right. But promise me, you will come back alive, right?"

"Of course. Now… go!" Lee said, smiling determinedly as he peeked over his left shoulder. He gave her a wink and sparkled a grin on his face.

The pink-haired kunoichi nodded with her teary eyes and began to hit the run away from them as possible.

"_Take care, Lee. Please, be safe," she prayed in her mind and continued on to dash to her next destination without stopping on her tracks. _

The wind was breezing across Lee's calmed face as he was gazing towards the white Zetsu's face.

"_This will not take long. I'm sure this battle is like a snap of a finger," he reminded himself optimistically in thought._

"Hahahaha! You certainly think that you will win? Maybe in your next life, kid," the white Zetsu laughed out loud hysterically, waving his arms up in the air drunkenly.

"I didn't come here to win. I came here to live for my friends and Guy-sensei. I could care less about you," the green leaf ninja remarked calmly.

"Guy-sensei? That low-life bastard? Hah. The last time I saw him, he was always attempting to use ninjutsu when he will never ever be able to," the white Zetsu chuckled, then started to attack him with his long arms crashing to the ground.

Lee dodged it and used kunai knives and shurikens to throw at his direction. A few seconds later, he quickly unwrapped his bandages and made a fast circular running motion around the enemy. He went closer to his body and swung his leg, exclaiming. "Primary Lotus!"

The white Zetsu groaned in pain after the kick, then regenerated the side of his body. He clawed his hands towards Lee's back, but missed the attack.

Meanwhile, the rest of the leaf squad had been walking together silently, whereas Neji and Shino kept their heads straight.

"Man, this sucks. I don't even want to go back to my own," Choji said sulkingly.

"Why? They wouldn't scold you that harshly," Tenten noted.

"I'm pretty sure we all are. Like what Gaara said, we need to face the consequences," Ino sighed tiredly.

"Consequences? My ass. I don't give a crap about what the Kazekage says. He is punishing us and just wants to suck up to his own title," Kiba sneered and rolled his eyes mockingly.

"Hey! Don't insult him like that!" Tenten defended, narrowing her eyes.

"Why not? He literally humiliated Sakura right in front of us. How is that fair for him to treat her like that? Yet, you're assuming that I'm a bad person when I'm defending one of our comrades?" Kiba shook his head in disappointment. "Get real."

Tenten didn't say anything, so she looked away with a frown.

"Guys, let's not argue right now. We got to keep moving," Neji advised.

"Do you think they're going to be okay?" Hinata asked in concern and continued on. "Lee went to go after Sakura and..."

"They are safe. They can handle the situation themselves," Neji reminded with reassurance.

"I hope so," Hinata nodded and breathed out slowly in relief.

* * *

_TO BE CONTINUED..._


	26. You Again

I know this chapter is longer than the other ones I've written. But this is the most important fight that you will ever read about Sakura's powers and so on.

Anyway, please read review!

* * *

After Itachi had put Kabuto into the loop, he was getting annoyed by the fact that the enemy was trying to escape from his clutches and turn into Orochimaru. But Kabuto couldn't accept his failure, so he used Water Dragon technique but it was futile since Itachi had counterattack him with his Water Dragon Bullets, which further shot him through his body multiple times. A few minutes later, Kabuto stood up unconsciously while Itachi promised to stop the Edo Tensei jutsu and less battles would occur.

Meanwhile outside the desert, the five Kage had been having a difficult time killing the monsters that kept appearing in their sight. Gaara was most likely deflecting their attacks away from his comrades as soon as possible. He didn't notice that the other creatures were attempting to slash him with their gigantic bare claws, yet the sand automatically shielded him.

"At this rate, if one of us loses our chakra inside us, we would be screwed," the red-haired Kazekage said worriedly in his mind.

The clouds began to darken and emerge throughout the evening and the sound of thunder was making deep rumbling noises with flashing light. The pink-haired kunoichi continued to run further nonstop, even though she was panting breathlessly while looking down on the bright pearl bracelet on her right palm. She carefully examined the letters on each bead she counted, then figured out that they were a secret code.

"Wait a minute. Could they mean a hidden location of where she is?" She asked herself blankly in her mind.

"Absolutely. There's no mistaking it," her inner self said with certainty.

"I, T, C, B, P," the pink-haired kunoichi spelled it out slowly and questioned. "What does it mean?"

"I got it. In the circular bottom pit," she answered.

"I see... So Katsumi must be two kilometres away. She's nearby," Sakura said, fixated on the front view.

Fifteen minutes later, she arrived at the edge of the rock and looked around the landscape. She quickly ran down to the pit and halted in the center but was not able to see clearly due to the fog.

"What is going on?" Sakura was puzzled and yelled out loud. "Where are you? Come out!"

It was dead silent at first, much to her irritation.

"Well, well, well... What a lovely surprise," a familiar voice said slyly, clapping slowly with her hands raised up. She began to reveal herself, which further shocked Sakura in disbelief.

Katsumi was wearing a dark purple armour with short red skirt and black high knee boots, especially her sword was strapped behind her back. Her vicious smirk was plastered on her face.

"You... What the hell happened to you? Your outfit. Is that your own transformation? How could you possibly upgrade that fast if you don't know the basic ninja techniques? Not to forget that you are just an-" the pink-haired kunoichi furrowed her eyebrows confusedly when she got interrupted.

"Ordinary person? Hah. Oh please, Sakura. You should know by now that Tobi has given me the best gift that I ever received. Luckily, I recovered quickly. Your reaction to what I am now is totally priceless," Katsumi chuckled nonchalantly and continued on. "I don't give a damn about those basic jutsus like you and everyone else have gone through. Taking the easy route is so much worth it because with these powers, I'm able and willing to destroy all of you in just a spark of dust. Perhaps, even crushing all of your bones and flesh."

Her inner half sweatdropped awkwardly and said. "Alrighty... That is a whole lot of creepiness. Talk about cringe."

"If that's the case, then I must knock you into your senses. You are not in the right state of mind," Sakura pointed out quietly, narrowing her eyes desperately. "Don't you realize what you're doing? What if Gaara sees this? Katsumi... I may not know you that well, but if there is still something good in you, then you would know that this is all wrong."

Katsumi raised an eyebrow ignorantly and remarked. "I do not care about what you're saying to me. Face it. Why should I listen to you? You have taken everything I have. You always get his attention and care."

Sakura shook her head and retorted back. "I never took anything. I never had any intentions to steal him away from you and I'm sorry if he hasn't been giving you enough time."

"Don't bullshit me. You're the reason why my relationship with him is starting to fall apart. And that letter that your pathetic friend of yours wrote-" Katsumi sneered, swung her hand angrily.

"Never call Lee like that. Sure, he may have meddled himself into this situation. But to be honest with you, you did this mostly to yourself," Sakura glared at her as she clenched her fists tightly.

"Hah! Your accusation on me is fraudulent," Katsumi rolled her eyes annoyingly and continued on with a cold stare. "Just imagine him reading that letter, my future plans with him will be over. Luckily, I happened to stop by his office and discovered it myself. I shredded it into pieces and disposed of it. Now my only goal is to kill you right here."

The pink-haired kunoichi ignored her as she quickly began to charge and pull out her kunai knives and shurikens towards her direction. Katsumi deflected them away from her with her arm out.

Sakura made a few hand signs to perform her Cherry Blossom clones technique, showing four of them and using Double-Crane's Earth Edge against her.

Katsumi pulled out her sword and slashed them into puffs of smoke. The pink-haired kunoichi started to combat her physically with her punches and kicks, then spun her left leg to destroy the armour, but was grabbed on the ankle. Katsumi sliced her abdomen.

Sakura stepped back in a slight groan and kicked her chin upright with a powerful force. The dark brunette groaned and gritted her teeth fumingly as she swung her sword at her.

"Cherry Blossom Ultimate Defense!" The pink-haired kunoichi exclaimed as the light pink barrier shielded her.

"Hmph. You have seen nothing yet," Katsumi said, smirking calmly and closed her eyes for a moment. "Ninja Art: Poison Ivy Strings."

All of a sudden, the ground broke out into purple long plant stems and veins that rapidly clutched into Sakura's legs and arms, zapping her intoxicatingly.

"Ahhh!!" The pink-haired kunoichi cried out and dropped into her knees after inhaling the chemicals inside her mouth and nose. She started gagging out blood, much to the brunette's sickening amusement. However, she stood up and used Cherry Blossom Flash to attack her with Multi-Blossom Shards and Wind Blossom Star simultaneously.

Katsumi stumbled back and got scratches on her face and legs. "Argh!! You stupid bitch!"

Then, she disappeared out of her sight and went behind her to throw poisonous bombs around her. Thankfully, the pink-haired kunoichi hopped out of the sight and landed safely on the other side of the surface.

She started panting heavily and stared at the purple veins that were beginning to appear all over her legs and hands till they reached to the tips of her fingers. She was shivering at the spasms she was feeling, so she pulled out a few bottles of antidotes and injected them hurriedly.

Although, she didn't have much time left when Katsumi pushed her off with a huge kick on her back.

Sakura fell and rolled over to the ground and stood up quickly while staring at her run with the sword she was holding. "Ugh! Cherry Blossom Rain of Fire!!"

A couple of meteorites were falling above her and surrounded Katsumi in the circle with flames. Unfortunately, the dark brunette was able to dismiss it with a single blow of wind, turning them into ashes.

"What?! How did you-?!" The pink-haired kunoichi stuttered nervously.

"Like I told you, I'm inevitable! Tobi gave me the power that I needed and crave for! Nobody and not even you can ever stop me!" Katsumi stated cynically and clashed her sword with the kunai knife that Sakura was gripping onto.

The pink-haired kunoichi widened her eyes appall when she saw that Katsumi's pupils were under a deep hypnosis spell. "Shit! She's not herself!"

"I knew it!! Something was definitely wrong with her! Tobi must have cast some genjutsu in her and possibly to keep us at bay," her inner half pointed out.

Sakura dodged Katsumi's sword slashes and started punching her around, but she also missed as well.

The dark brunette made a huge step backward and raised her two fingers upon her lips. "Summon: Prism Wring."

The giant barrier locked Sakura inside completely and showed a time limit, much to her puzzlement. She slowly scanned the walls and was feeling agitated at Katsumi's smug expression.

"You see, this cage will definitely shrink in exactly three minutes. Therefore, leading to pulverize your whole body," the dark brunette described every detail in gratification. "There's no escape for you this time. You will eventually end up dead and I will do the same thing to all of your friends. Isn't that quite exciting?"

"You monster...!" The pink-haired kunoichi was shooting sharp daggers at her and clenching her teeth angrily.

"Okay, I need you to calm down for a minute. There is a way, but we're going to have to do this together," her inner half said.

"How? She literally said that we cannot break out of this," Sakura pointed out frustratingly while she continued to stare at the dark brunette.

"And you believe her?" Her inner half asked calmly.

The pink-haired kunoichi paused for a moment and listened to her talk instead.

"Look, this may lose the amount of chakra I have, but this is the only chance to decamp," her inner half pointed out.

"Hmm. What's the matter? Did you finally decide to give up?" Katsumi said with a mocking smile.

Sakura closed her eyes for a moment and waited for a few seconds to concentrate on what she was supposed to do. Instantly, the wind was beginning to form a circulation around her feet that further created a rocky tornado breaking the glass barrier into pieces of shards.

"What the hell?!!" Katsumi cursed and hid herself away with her arms from the fragments that were striking her.

The cage exploded, whereas the pink-haired kunoichi opened her eyes daringly at her and hovered in the air as soon as she was performing her two combinations of techniques.

"Dance of the Blossom Mist with White Blossom Crane!" She exclaimed when the heavy haze was spraying towards the dark brunette, who was immediately held by the flying creature.

Katsumi shrieked when her armour was pecked by the bird's beak, cracking the rest of them in half.

"Now, Multi-Blossom Shards!" The pink-haired kunoichi gathered the pieces and fling them at her arms and the bottom of her body.

The crane dropped Katsumi out of its huge claws. She was falling quickly until another smirk appeared on her lips viciously.

"Black Raven... Unleash and Steal!" She said, much to Sakura's horror.

Then, a black bird showed up below her and caught Katsumi safely into its arms.

The pink-haired kunoichi went straight to her and attacked her with Earth Shock Wave, but became futile when the bird screeched so loudly and devoured all of her chakra and energy.

"No!" She howled in pain and the crane's wings broke and got bitten by the raven's sharp teeth.

The black bird creature flew across Sakura and scratched her arms with three marks.

Both the pink-haired kunoichi and the crane plummeted down onto the farthest ground of the pit. The creature that Sakura was in suddenly vanished, leaving her in discomfort of the bruises she received.

She started to get up, but tripped when the purple veins started to throb on her wrists. She clutched onto one of them and breathed out slowly.

Katsumi stepped down from the black raven and began to approach her with a few steps forward. "Stage 2: Poison Shots."

The pink-haired kunoichi bolted upright and used Cherry Blossom Flash again in zig zag ways, then attacked her Double-Crane's Earth Edge again.

Katsumi didn't bother to look at her when she released poison wasps out of her back and performed the next stage of the black raven. Sakura, on the contrary, was calm enough to dodge them and attacked them with the blossom shards above.

The creature imprinted a mark on the top of the pink-haired kunoichi's head and flew out to avoid any bombards.

Sakura went on the other side and quickly combated her physically at the front. A few seconds later, she makes a powerful impact on the ground full of force. "Cha!!"

"This is it! The final blow!" Her inner half exclaimed strongly.

She made a few hand signs and said with her bright green pupils beaming with determination. "Quaternary: Ultimate Bloom!"

A great vast was immensely quaking the stones and their surroundings as they all turned into a spark ray of light that was flourishing and striking the dark brunette and fell down unconsciously in just about ten seconds.

The pink-haired kunoichi was panting breathlessly while bracing herself. She began to walk slowly and looked down on her body with a valiant declaration and raised up her hand to perform her sealing technique. "It's done."

Suddenly, two swords stabbed her heart and stomach, making her eyes widened in confusion and bewilderment.

"Huh?!" The pink-haired kunoichi gasped out shockingly.

"Heh. Final Stage: Black Death..." Katsumi grinned sadistically in a whisper after appearing behind the pink-haired kunoichi's back.

"Uh...Sakura... I..." her inner half croaked weakly and disappeared out of her mind.

"No... Don't leave!" She yelled out but it wasn't loud enough for her to hear.

The two swords caused the purple veins to activate the power when Katsumi pulled them out and kicked her heel into Sakura's wound back forwardly, who tried to keep herself steady.

"Gahh!" The pink-haired kunoichi was losing a lot of blood and chakra when she continued to walk away from her in a limp.

"Do you really think you can defeat me?! I've told you earlier you dumb bitch! You lose!!" The dark brunette started to laugh wildly in hysteric as she watched her amusingly. "Just as I thought. You were always weak."

Then, Sakura hits the ground with a loud thump and looks up to the right side of the sunset when her body starts to numb.

Naruto's eyes widened in horror as well as Tsunade, Lee and the leaf squad. Kankuro and Temari glanced at each other, then turned around to witness the far view of the loud boom of the bright powerful essence parting the clouds up and absorbing the lightning into the ground, leading to Katsumi's body.

Sakura became frozen on her spot and shivered slightly at the sight below of the glowing katana. As soon as the pool of blood was surrounding her, she released a bright pink mini cherry blossom flower from her right palm and blew it across the air before it disappeared into a spark of light, sending a signal message to one of her friends.

"Is this it...? If it is, then I guess I'm grateful for completing what needs to be done," the pink-haired kunoichi said softly.

She was breathing out slowly with hollow gasps, blinking several times to keep her eyes open still and remembering her past memories.

FIRST FLASHBACK:

After opening the door in front of her house in the evening, she turned her lights open and was greeted loudly by the majority of her friends inside the house.

"Surprise!!" They replied gleefully in unison, much to her astonishment.

"Happy Birthday, girl!!" Ino squealed happily and hugged her tightly.

"Happy Birthday, Sakura!!" Hinata and Tenten responded with warming smiles as they started to prepare the plates and utilities on the food table.

"Yo! Happy Birthday, hope you got the best dayyy!" Kiba hollered at her with his hands, whereas Akamaru barked and stuck his tongue out while wagging his tail adoringly.

She rolled her eyes annoyingly and laughed ridiculously at him as she approached the dog and rubbed the top of his head.

"Thanks, guys! But you don't have to..." the pink-haired kunoichi murmured shyly.

"Aww, come on. This occasion is important and we want to do something special to our friend like you," Lee complimented and grinned cheekily.

"Indeed," Neji smirked in agreement.

"We made you a birthday cake!" Choji mentioned pleasantly.

"And don't forget, a cherry blossom dreamcatcher, which I drew. Not them," Sai said smiling, much to Kiba and Ino's huff.

"Hey! We helped you with the art, dude!" Kiba fumed vehemently.

"Okay, okay. That's enough. It doesn't matter whoever does this and that. At least, you all made an effort to make my birthday very meaningful," Sakura said smiling fondly at them with her hands folded together and continued on with a frown. "I really miss Naruto sometimes. I wonder how he's doing these days."

Then, the leaf squad parted away from each other to reveal Naruto's smugness.

"Always better than never! I miss you too, baby!" He exclaimed out with his arms spread out.

The pink-haired kunoichi burst out laughing at his silliness and scolded him with a pout. "Stop that! Come here!"

The blonde-haired ninja came over to embrace her and said genuinely. "Happy Birthday, my beautiful friend."

The pink-haired kunoichi chuckled and closed her eyes for a moment to hold her tears back, saying. "Thank you, Naruto..."

"Awww... Two friends finally meet again," Tenten gushed over their friendship.

"Yeah," Shino agreed as he pushed his eyeglasses forward.

Then, there was a sudden knock at her door, so Sakura turned the handle over and saw the Sand Siblings standing with gifts on their hands.

"Happy birthday, pinky!" Kankuro and Temari greeted merrily in unison.

"Kankuro! Temari! Come in!" She came up to them and gave them a quick hug. Both of them carried the boxes over to the present area and greeted the others. Her eyes landed on the red-haired Kazekage who was smiling peacefully at her.

"Happy birthday, Sakura!" He said and wrapped his arms around her gently, much to her surprise.

The pink-haired kunoichi got startled and hid her blush away on her cheeks. "Thank you, Gaara..."

Tenten gritted her teeth and tried to not to smirk at the two loving best friends, whispering at Hinata. "You know, I think these two look good."

"Um... Let's not talk about that here," the Hyuga kunoichi laughed nervously as she rubbed the back of her head.

"Psst!! Oy, what are you two girls gossipping about?!" Kiba called out.

"That's what I would like to know. Probably some steamy tea," Kankuro snorted jokingly with a laugh when Temari punched him on the shoulder. "Ow!!"

"You and Kiba need to shut your traps and just leave the girls alone," the four ponytail-haired kunoichi scolded.

Tenten looked at her and said with a smile. "Thanks."

Temari said. "No problem."

Gaara and Sakura slowly let go of each other's embrace, whereas Naruto stepped in.

"Hey, bro. What's up?" The blonde-haired ninja made a hand shake with him.

"I'm doing fine. A lot of paperwork in the office," the red-haired Kazekage chuckled.

"Hm. Must be tough," the blonde-haired ninja nodded in agreement.

"Just wait until you became a Hokage," Lee added in with a joke and greeted the red-haired Kazekage with a hand shake as well. "Hey, Gaara."

"Hello, Naruto and Lee," he said smiling warmly at them.

"Come on, guys. Let's go over, eat and chat," Sakura said gladly as she gestured the guys to the dinner table.

END OF THE FIRST FLASHBACK

SECOND FLASHBACK:

The heated argument between the red-haired Kazekage and the pink-haired kunoichi was going on back and forth nonstop at the top of the Hokage tower after his conference meeting with Tsunade and the elders.

"So you're here to tell me that your plan with the leaf squad is to infiltrate Akatsuki's hidden base? Sakura, did you ever think for a second about what you're doing?!" Gaara raised his voice.

"I did. I'm sorry, but this is the only way to reduce the number of them," Sakura pointed out.

"And then what? Look, they will never stop until they multiply one by one. If I were you, I wouldn't underestimate them that easily. Think logically about this," Gaara said quietly, narrowing his eyes.

"Well, you're underestimating me... Aren't we here to sacrifice our lives for the people and to attain peace in the world?" Sakura asked desperately.

"Yes, but this plan of yours is not only the answer..." Gaara remarked.

The pink-haired kunoichi was stunned to hear him actually say it coming out of his mouth and said. "You requested for another recruit and yet, you're not satisfied with what we have in mind? Are we not good enough or are you just tired of living in someone else's shadow?"

"That is clearly not the point. You misunderstand me. The plan may work, but there has to be a more in-depth strategy and precision," the red-haired Kazekage explained.

"Then, we will demonstrate it once the leaf squad and I head into the battlefield," the pink-haired kunoichi pointed out.

"The answer is no..." Gaara said strictly, crossing his arms.

"Why not?!" The pink-haired kunoichi questioned in exasperation as the silence was filling in the area until she came to a realization and shook her head in disappointment at him. "I just can't believe you... You assume quickly that you don't want us to die."

The red-haired Kazekage stared at her and said. "There you have it."

Sakura laughed at him and scoffed as she looked away. "Whether you all like it or not, we are doing this in our way. You're nothing like Sasuke..."

"You're right. I'm not like him because you know why... You chose to love that criminal, who happens to end up choosing the wrong path in his life and almost killed you twice, Sakura... Twice..." Gaara stated darkly.

"He has his personal reasons-" the pink-haired kunoichi said but got interrupted.

"And those reasons are pure vengeance and hatred against you, Naruto, and the entire leaf village," the red-haired Kazekage pointed out and started to walk away from her. He stopped at the staircase and informed her. "Talk to me when you're in the right state."

From that moment on, he walked down and left her standing with her eyes glistening into tears of sorrow and anger. She smudged them off of her cheeks and closed her eyes to feel the breeze hit her face.

END OF THE SECOND FLASHBACK

THIRD FLASHBACK

Gaara hugged Katsumi lovingly and kissed the side of her cheek, making her giggle.

Everyone else was clapping and cheering for the engagement couple in the room.

"Congratulations to Gaara and Katsumi! We wish you all happiness and more blessings," Baki said and raised up his glass. "And for the toast!"

"Congrats!" They replied in unison and drank their glasses.

Kankuro and Temari looked blankly at Sakura, who was smiling and clapping at them.

Later on at the balcony, the pink-haired kunoichi was standing and leaning against the railing while she was watching the clouds drift away.

"Hey... You okay?" A familiar voice asked concernedly, which made her turn around to see the person.

"Lee..." Sakura blinked a few times. "I thought you're celebrating with them?"

"Nah. Celebrating is not my thing, especially when it's not the same with you," Lee said chuckling.

Sakura rolled her eyes and shook her head, saying. "Alrighty. You got me. But is something the matter?"

"I've asked you the same thing, but you have to answer me first," Lee pointed out.

The pink-haired kunoichi turned to look at the view of the village and citizens walking down the streets, working on business hours. She hummed and said. "To be honest with you, I've finally accepted what is happening. I mean, a girl who realizes something too late is such a bummer, you know."

Lee glanced at her and gazed suspiciously, saying. "Sakura... I know that you are faking a smile. But you do not have to hide your feelings all the time just for the sake of everybody else around here. You are so much more than what those guys you've been falling for are missing. However, I'm not like them. I've always noticed you from the moment I saw you back in the Ninja Academy."

Sakura looked at him in shock and asked. "Lee... What are you saying?"

"The truth is..." Lee paused for a moment to bring up all the courage he has left of him and spilled out slowly in shyness. "I really, really like you more than just a friend..."

The pink-haired kunoichi's eyes got startled and smiled at him wholeheartedly. Then, she hugged him in which he did the same. "Thank you, Lee for being honest."

The green leaf ninja let go of her and sighed with a frown. "Look, I know you are not into me because your heart belongs to someone else."

Sakura's eyes widened in astonishment and questioned. "Wha-? How do you know that?!"

"Because I see the way you look at him whenever you two are together, but all I can say is that you will find the right person at the right time."

"Lee..." the pink-haired kunoichi murmured pitifully at him. "I'm so sorry."

"It's alright. I'm moving on, anyways. I know I'll be single for the rest of my life. Anyway, I've figured out when you confessed to me at the bridge back in the leaf village. I know," Lee nodded and laughed.

"You're right and hey, don't say that. I'm sure there is a special girl waiting to be with you someday," Sakura said hopefully.

"Maybe. Let's find out, shall we?" Lee grinned and continued to chuckle amusingly until he started tickling her sides, making her laugh even louder.

END OF THE THIRD FLASHBACK

FINAL FLASHBACK

After the training in the third ground, Naruto and Sakura were resting on the grass hill and ate the ice cream popsicle on their hands during the hottest afternoon.

"I want you to have this..." the pink-haired kunoichi opened her pouch and gave him a small tiny gift box.

The blonde-haired ninja raised his eyebrow in peculiar after taking it, asking with a sheepish grin. "What's this about? Oh my gosh. Are you going to ask me to marry you?!"

The pink-haired kunoichi smacked him on the shoulder and gritted her teeth in annoyance. "Idiot!! Only men will propose to women."

Naruto burst out laughing and said. "Hahah! I was kidding! Chillax."

He then stared at the tiny box dumbfounded and scratched the side of his temple.

Sakura just rolled her eyes at him and said, chuckling at his reaction. "Just open it..."

Naruto looked at her, then towards the tiny box. He quickly untied the ribbon off of it and pulled out the lid. He gasped in awe and wonder, saying. "Wooww!! This is a necklace for me?"

Sakura nodded while she continued to gaze at him fondly. "Hmm. Because we don't see each other often. You are busy traveling on different missions while I'm caught up with my medical work at the hospital, so everywhere you go. That necklace will always remind you that I'm here for you and I'm never going away."

Naruto stared at her with a frown and sadly said. "But Sakura... It's not the same when we're both physically distant. I mean, our friendship is strong, but why do I always feel something else is missing? Like someone we know of...?"

The pink-haired kunoichi stared at him and smiled, saying. "I'll tell you what. We'll promise each other that we will meet again every three weeks. Does that sound better?"

The blonde-haired ninja placed his finger upon his chin and pretended to sniff dramatically. "That seems so far away... It will feel like forever."

Sakura nudged him again on the shoulder and giggled at his humor. "Hey! I'm being serious here."

"Okay, okay... Well, can it be less than three weeks? I was planning that we should all hang out more with the leaf squad," Naruto suggested and grinned.

"Of course..." Sakura gave him a curt nod.

The blonde-haired ninja lifted his pinky up and asked hopefully. "Promise?"

"Promise," the pink-haired kunoichi said joyfully in declaration and intertwined her pinky finger with his.

Both of them tightly held their hands together as they stared into each other's eyes admiringly and hugged one another.

END OF THE FINAL FLASHBACK

Her heart was beating at the lowest rate out of her chest and as soon as she closed her eyes, she took her last breath, saying. "Thank you for everything... Everyone."

On the spur of the moment, her hand was laid out, much to Katsumi's deep satisfying laughter.

"I won. This victory is all mine," she said grinning from ear to ear and slid the sword back inside the strap behind her back.

Naruto and the others felt someone tapping on their shoulders twice, causing them to sense fear and anxiety at the same time.

The blonde-haired ninja was turning his head around and narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "That's weird."

"Hmm..." Kurama hummed in response.

"What the hell was that?!" Kankuro asked in concern.

"Huh...? Strange..." Temari stuttered in startelement.

Abruptly, Gaara fluttered his eyes in stagger and glanced over behind him to see who it was. He stared at the empty space around them and did not know how to react. He thought there was someone, but nobody was there.

Until that time, the red ribbon bracelet that he was currently wearing had already fallen.

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_TO BE CONTUNUED..._


	27. Loss

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Katsumi inhaled and exhaled slowly as she stretched her head around to adjust to her new power that she now holds, then teleported into the black hole to meet up with the leader.

Meanwhile, Lee turned back around and narrowed his eyes at the hysterical laughter that the white Zetsu was making.

"Hahahahahaha!!! Well, it seems that she has finally done it! Bravo, young lady! Master Tobi will be super proud of you," he said, grinning his teeth sharply in satisfaction.

Lee stepped his foot forward and questioned with his fist held towards him. "Just what the hell do you mean by that??!"

"My, you still don't know? Even after witnessing that massive power that was forming towards Katsumi? Hmm. You are totally brainless," the white Zetsu sighed out and continued on with an evil smirk. "You see… Our dearest companion has taken an advance move to a new life."

"Grr…! Get to the point!" Lee demanded.

The white Zetsu made a tongue popping noise and said amusingly. "Let's just say that your precious friend, Sakura Haruno…" He paused for a moment and continued on to conclude his sentence. "...Is somewhere in paradise."

Lee's horrified expression grew larger as his blood started to run cold. He stood there, not being able to move an inch after the enemy had spoken about it. He shook his head and denied by arguing. "That is a big lie!!"

"Is it? Don't be so naive, kiddo," the white Zetsu guessed and replied further with a wide grin.

"Go and see for yourself."

Then, he started to laugh uncontrollably and withdraw from the battlefield, leaving the green leaf ninja in his own traumatic state that he was in.

"No… It can't be…" Lee was trembling in worry as he began to run and go back to ask for his friends' help. "This is bad… I need to inform them quickly."

He picked up a fast pace and avoided the pebbles that were lying down on the ground.

Back inside the hidden cloud village tower, Inoichi was concentrating on the progress of the fight that was occurring in each battlefield. Then, he gasped slightly when he saw what happened in the circular bottom pit.

"What is going on? Who's the person lying on the ground…?" His mouth went agape in horror for a moment.

However, he cleared his throat and tapped the telecommunication signal, saying. "Excuse me… I would like to inform you that the power coming from the natural source is none other than the Akatsuki and I'm very sad to announce…"

He stopped as he identified the lifeless figure, gulping nervously.

Everyone in their teams paused from their fighting when they looked straight at the front and was carefully listening to him.

Inoichi continued to finish his sentence with a timid sigh. "Sakura Haruno… is possibly demised…"

The leaf squad's eyes widened in bewilderment and trauma, including Tsunade, Kankuro, Temari, who already met up with each other.

"What?!" The purple-faced ninja questioned, perplexed.

_"No way…" The four ponytail-haired kunoichi shook her head in disbelief to herself.__"I find this hard to believe," the fifth Hokage pointed out in thought._

"We have to go," Kankuro noted.

"Where?" Temari asked concernedly.

"To the leaf squad. Come on, let's hurry," Kankuro said as they both went off and notified quickly. "Sorry, lady Tsunade. Sakura is our friend and-"

"I know. It's very important. Don't worry about me. The rest of the Kages will be here. Now, off you two go," the fifth Hokage smiled softly and gave them a side nod.

The two sand siblings nodded at her respectfully and hopped out of the sight.

Somewhere in the forest, the blonde-haired ninja was glaring angrily at Tobi and the rest of the jinchurikis, standing behind him.

"That is full of shit. What would they do to her?!!" The blonde-haired ninja yelled out as he clenched his fists.

"Naruto… He wasn't entirely sure if she is-" Killerbee said with reassurance.

"She's not!! So why would he announce it and say 'possibly?' He has no proof!!" Naruto growled.

Kakashi, on the other hand, looked at him and spoke out quietly. "We will find out. Right now, I just need you to be still."

"He's right. The more we panic, the more we will not be able to withstand them," Guy agreed while crossing his arms.

Naruto stared at Tobi and the jinchurikis as he was gritting his teeth in irritation, but decided to hold back his anger. Instead, he tilted his head down to reckon.

_"Hope you are safe. I will look for you after I beat up these bastards," the blonde-haired ninja prayed as his jaw tightened._

Later on after the forfeit with the white Zetsu, the green leaf ninja arrived back in the same destination as he hopped down from the rocky hill. He began to walk towards the leaf squad, whom they turned their heads around in shock where Tenten ran up towards him and wrapped her arms around him.

"Lee! You came!" She exclaimed when her eyes were scanning every part if he was injured. "Thank goodness you're okay!"

"You're here. That's good!" Neji said surprisingly.

"We're all glad you're safe," Hinata said happily.

"Wait... Where's Sakura?" Tenten asked curiously.

"Yeah. Didn't you go after her and went with her to go and chase Katsumi?" Choji asked blankly.

Lee was staring off into space vacantly while his whole body went numb, much to the others' suspicion.

"Dude! Why can't you answer?!" Kiba asked, furrowing his eyebrows in puzzlement.

The green leaf ninja swallowed a hard lump in his throat and closed his eyes to lower his heart rate. Before he was about to speak, the others heard a delicate swishing sound of the sand descending where the red-haired Kazekage had stepped down from it.

"Gaara… You're here!" Ino said shockingly.

"Pfft. No shit, he cares..." Kiba mumbled and looked away repulsively.

Tenten shook her head and ignored his remark.

He was glancing at them and asked faintly with his eyes fully narrow. "Where is she?"

"Who?" Kiba repeated, pretending to be clueless until he received a smack on his head by Ino. He cursed in a hiss, saying. "Fuck! That hurts."

"We… Um. We don't know. That's why we've been asking Lee. He was the last person to be with her," Tenten answered gently.

The red-haired Kazekage went over and turned his shoulder around to look at him directly in the eyes, questioning. "Where is she…?"

Lee looked down to hide his emotions and didn't bother to answer.

"Where is she?!" Gaara raised his voice demandingly, startling the others. His eyes were gazing coldly at him and firmly asked once again. This time, he was furious. "WHERE IS SAKURA?!!!"

Lee shut his eyes close and whimpered when the red-haired Kazekage's grip was hurting the side of his shoulder. He answered with a whisper, saying. "I don't know… I saw her, but…"

"But what?!!" Gaara repeated strongly, looking at him back and forth.

Lee sighed and explained as he was starting to quiver slightly. "I found her and the white Zetsu appeared in front of us to fight, so I decided to let Sakura go and proceed to our plan. After that, I didn't know what was happening from afar where there was this enormous light…"

Gaara stared at him indifferently, letting go of his grip on his shoulder. He stepped back and turned around to walk away from him while the others were watching.

Lee was breathing heavily and didn't bother to continue further because he was carrying guilt inside.

The red-haired Kazekage was looking at the distance, then peeked over his shoulder with a warning. "You better be right about what you've told me. Because if not, I will not hold myself back. If anything happens to her, I will do something that may be unforgivable and you wish that I haven't..."

With that being said, he stepped into his sand and hovered up in the air before he traveled away, leaving the leaf squad into confusion.

Tenten looked at Lee and interrogated him in annoyance. "How could you let her run off?"

"I… I thought that it was the right decision," Lee pointed out with his voice sounding hoarsely.

"You thought wrong," Neji said straightforwardly with his arms crossed.

"We will just have to wait from the Intel squad," Sai stated, whereas the rest of them nodded in agreement.

From that moment on, the red-haired Kazekage was rapidly moving up his pace and destroying the boulders off on the side with his sand. He was beginning to panic inside, but remained calm. Although, his patience was starting to get lower.

_"Sakura… I'm coming," he thought hopefully._

However, he didn't care for reality right now. He just wants to ensure that his friend is safe, but is she…?

* * *

_TO BE CONTINUED... _


	28. The Shocking Revelation

**How is everyone doing in quarantine so far? I know COVID-19 really steals so many precious moments for this year's 2020. For some reason, I think it is for the benefit of everyone in the world today. Most likely, I'm able to focus on writing stories and getting them done ASAP.**

**Anyway, please read & review!**

* * *

Gaara halted at the moment of arriving down the circular bottom pit. He was standing and glancing around slowly.

Then, he noticed a hand lying on the crumbled rocks from a few metres away and hurried himself over to see the figure.

In just about ten seconds, his face became horrified when his eyes started to widen at the sight of the lifeless body of his dearest friend.

There, he saw her hair displayed out with blood dripped in the corner of her mouth.

The red-haired Kazekage was standing traumatized and his breathing became shallow. He started to shiver as he was walking towards her uneasily, calling out her name.

"Sakura…" He bent on his knees until his eyes were examining the severe wounds that afflicted upon her chest and stomach. He sat down and gently lifted her body, then cupped her cheeks. Closing his eyes, he placed his head on the side of her neck, remembering the times they fought and argued.

_FIRST FLASHBACK:_

_"You really want to go fight the Akatsuki? Do you know how dangerous they are? You and the leaf squad need to understand the circumstances," the red-haired Kazekage reasoned out._

_"I don't care!" The pink-haired kunoichi said out loud, much to his bewilderment and she continued on. "What if this is the kind of path that we've chosen? For once in your life, just hear me out."_

_"I did. If you want to go, then go as you wish," the red-haired Kazekage gestured his hand out to the door._

_"Fine!" The pink-haired kunoichi said vehemently and exited the room as she covered her eyes with her hands and sob quietly._

_Gaara watched her run out of the office and felt downhearted. He thought in his mind that it was for the better of her safety and protection that she needed. He wasn't afraid of Sakura wanting to battle the Akatsuki. In fact, he was very much afraid of more._

_END OF THE FIRST FLASHBACK_

_SECOND FLASHBACK:_

_The pink-haired kunoichi was constantly giggling and avoiding Lee tickling her sides. She dodged them until she retaliated back at him._

_Kankuro and Temari were watching them tease each other at the balcony in awe while they were talking about them at their lunch table._

_"He seems to really like her," the purple-faced ninja smirked._

_"Hm. Obviously. I mean these two have been friends since their Ninja Academy school," the four ponytail-haired kunoichi pointed out, then she took a bite of the romaine lettuce from her plate._

_Katsumi rolled her eyes at them and smirked sarcastically. "I would definitely agree. They look better as a beastly couple. Right, Gaara?" She turned on her right side to look at him, but he was staring at them off into space, much to her confusion and annoyance._

_She then snapped her finger in front of his face, alerting him back to reality._

_Clearing his throat, Gaara was blinking his eyes a few times and said. "Yes. You are right…"_

_Both of his siblings were shaking their heads at them silently and puffed out in wearisome._

_"Whatever you guys say," Kankuro commented, cracking a fake smile and trying to hide his anger._

_Temari gave him a warning look, but he shrugged off completely._

_The red-haired Kazekage, on the other hand, was secretly glancing at the two friends laughing and enjoying each other's company, causing him to feel envious. He noticed how Lee was very kind and caring towards Sakura and he wondered to himself if what he was feeling was something else. He does have Katsumi by his side, but he was beginning to question himself if he made the right choice._

_END OF THE SECOND FLASHBACK_

_FINAL FLASHBACK:_

_After the dinner was over, the birthday party was still on at night for the leaf squad and the sand siblings. A few of them decided to play chess games, whereas the others decided to play cards on the table. They were all cheering, laughing, joking at each other gleefully at their winning and losing rounds. As for the pink-haired kunoichi and the red-haired Kazekage, they both went outside her house for a night stroll to get some fresh air and have different conversations._

_"So, did you like the present I gave you?" He asked with a warm smile._

_"No. I don't like it. I love it," she answered with a grin and giggled softly. She was holding onto the pictures of them, then slid them inside her mini book she was carrying. "Look at us. You look so much happier than before. Not to forget that you went dark during our chunin exam days."_

_The red-haired Kazekage chuckled and nodded in agreement. "I know. I must be very scary to everyone at that time."_

_The pink-haired kunoichi placed her finger and thought out loud as she looked at him observantly. "You were pretty much vulnerable and just wanted to fit in. I'm glad I've found you because the two of us were on the same boat."_

_"Hmm. I certainly agree," he said until he took both of her wrists gently to make eye contact and continued on. "Listen, I'm so thankful for everything you have done for me. I want to do the same."_

_Sakura blinked her eyes blankly and smiled sincerely. "You don't have to. With you being around is more than enough. I care a lot about you and I don't want anything to change our friendship."_

_Gaara gazed at her and nodded mutually. He then slowly wrapped his arms around her, much to her surprise. "I swear to take care of you… I will never let anyone else harm you because you have given me strength and purpose."_

_The two stood frozen on their spot while the moon and the stars were out, especially when the birds were flying across the sky._

_The pink-haired kunoichi tried to hide the blush from her cheeks and returned her embrace._

_"Gaara…" she whispered softly._

_"Hmm. What is it?" He asked._

_"Thank you. You're important to me…" she said wholeheartedly whilst closing her eyes._

_END OF THE FINAL FLASHBACK_

The red-haired Kazekage had his eyes closed when tears were already dripping down from his cheeks and clenched his teeth tightly in his own mind, saying. _"What have I done? This is all my fault… I should've never let you go."_

Suddenly, he began to scream as his jaw tightened furiously and holding her body closely to his.

"Noooooo!" His loud cry was echoing through the surroundings and smashed the ground into pieces using his fist. "I failed to protect you! This is all my fault!"

Then, the sand began to swirl in a huge tornado form, which his two siblings have noticed. Both of them arrived and were shocked to see that their younger brother was losing control over his emotions.

"Gaara!" Temari gasped shockingly and hurried herself over to where he was.

"Bro! Stop!" Kankuro yelled in panic as he ran towards his direction.

Unfortunately, the tornado didn't stop as it eventually grew stronger, much to their fear.

"Shit. Even without his One-Tailed beast transformation, he is still capable of manipulating his own power to the very extent…" the purple-faced ninja thought in distraught.

He shielded his face with his arms and began to lecture him. "Gaara! You got to stop! I know how much you are hurting right now the way we are all hurting. Bro, if you can all hear us, please do! It is agonizing to feel and mourn the loss of our friend, but letting our emotions get in the way will not solve the problem. At this point, we will lose if we do not choose how to act right. Do you honestly think that our parents and uncle Yashamaru would be happy to see you going on a rampage?!" Kankuro paused for a moment and continued on deeply. "Do you want to go back to the old Gaara that you used to be or do you want to be the leader that everyone is looking up to?! Come on! Tell me! I'm here for you! Temari is here! We are right here. We are not going anywhere and let you become the monster again…!"

The four ponytailed-haired kunoichi's eyes started to tear up and added in by raising her voice with grief. "Gaara! Let us all share the pain with you! Please… We need you. The others need you! We understand how you feel. Losing Sakura is the most devastating. It's almost as if… I lost a little sister…" She trailed off of her words when she was crying uncontrollably.

From that moment on, the sand tornado had died down slowly on the ground where Kankuro and Temari sighed out in relief. The two made their way towards Gaara, who was still holding Sakura's dead body close to him.

Kankuro removed his hoodie and was comforting Temari on her back with his hand. They looked down on them and couldn't help but feel sorrowful at the sight of her.

Concurrently and somewhere in the deserted area, the green leaf ninja was sulking like a turtle on the way back to his own division squad without bothering to contact Guy-sensei. Then, a bright mini cherry blossom flower was flowing in the air as it was descending down on his left shoulder and onto his left hand, puzzling him in suspicion.

"What? What is this?" He asked himself in mind and came to realize the familiar scent.

"What?! No way!" He became alarmed after he listened to her voice recording inside the flower, which further astonished him at what he discovered.

* * *

_TO BE CONTINUED..._


	29. Mad World

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* * *

The green leaf ninja kept on running in a couple of steps until he met up with his own division squad.

"Who are you?" One of the shinobi allies asked weirdly.

"It's Lee. What happened and aren't you supposed suspended from fighting in the battlefield?" Another ninja raised an eyebrow peculiarly.

Lee was panting breathlessly while he squatted on his knees, then regained back to his standing position, saying. "Yes. But now is not the time to talk about that. I have this…" He held the cherry blossom flower in front of them and continued on. "My friend has recorded a message about us who Katsumi really is."

"Wait. Lord's Kazekage's fiance? What about her?" A sand allied ninja asked blankly.

"Yeah. Isn't she taking care of the duties back in the village?" The third ninja questioned.

"Well, no. You guys got it wrong. She's been roaming around and conspiring with the Akatsuki," Lee pinpointed.

"Pfft. That's a load of crap you're talking," a second sand allied ninja huffed, shaking his head in disbelief.

"No. Please, you got to believe me! Here! Listen carefully," the green leaf ninja said desperately and moved the mini cherry blossom flower close to them, tapping it to play the voice recording.

_"Hey… I know that I've broken the rules of the shinobi alliance. But if any of you are listening to this, please hear me out for once. I want to let you know that Katsumi is not who you think she is. Lately, my friends have discovered that Katsumi had stolen the forbidden scrolls in Gaara's office from the vault and has joined with the Akatsuki. She wants to destroy you as much as she had already destroyed me. If you guys see her, please stop her. She's somewhere wandering in the midst. I beg of you… I'm running out of time… I don't have long to live… Please…" the pink-haired kunoichi whispered quietly, then the voice recording had ended with a distorting signal, much to their dismay._

The others were shocked when they glanced at each other in bewilderment, not knowing what to expect.

Lee, on the other hand, stared back and forth at them silently and asked slowly. "Now, do you believe it?"

"How did she encounter Katsumi?" Another ninja allied questioned blankly.

"Because she went after her to stop her, because I let her go. I know I shouldn't have and if I was with Sakura, she would be safe by now, but she's gone…" the green leaf ninja murmured faintly, looking away to hide his tears.

"Hey. It's not your fault. You were only helping her. Plus, the fight between her and Katsumi is something that you cannot control over. Do not dwell or punish yourself for your friend's death, alright?" A sand allied ninja stated as he went over to comfort him by placing his hand on his shoulder.

Lee nodded in understanding and sighed tiredly. "Right. Anyway, I think it's best if Guy-sensei knows this. Does anyone know where he is?"

"He's with Kakashi-sensei and Naruto. The three are going up against the remaining Akatsuki members," a leaf allied ninja said.

"I see… I might as well go after them because I got banned in this squad," the green leaf ninja said exasperatedly.

"I mean, the Kazekage had to do what he must do for the sake of everyone. But with you and your friends, I think you have a good reason," he replied back thoughtfully.

"Maybe I can send the communication signal from this flower to the Intel squad in the Hidden Cloud tower. They need to know this information," another ninja allied said firmly.

"Alright, then," Lee mumbled and handed the mini flower onto his palm.

He took it and made a few hand signs to perform his telepathic techniques. He closed his eyes and was concentrating on his chakra to send the voice recording through the telecommunications machine.

From there, Inoichi listened to it and his facial expression became astonished and puzzled at the same time.

_"What?! Oh no. This is bad. I've got to remind everyone about this, including the Kazekage," he said, panicking in his mind._

Later on when the battle had ended, Itachi put Kabuto into deep sleep and reminded Sasuke that the Tensei dead people will disappear and go back to their own graves. Though, they both know that he will also be gone as well.

"I know I have done horrible things to our home, but I swear to protect it. I have no attachments to this world no more," he declared calmly.

"Why? After what they did to you? I can't forgive them. Plus, you made me this way," Sasuke pointed out vehemently.

"The one who can change you is not me. That's why stopping this jutsu is the least I can do now. To keep from slighting what I left in Naruto's hands," Itachi explained.

Suddenly, a voice was clearing his throat and began to announce the news to everyone through their minds using his telepathic technique.

"Ahem… Attention, people. If you just take a moment. This will not take long. I promise you, but there's something I need to tell you. Recently, our friend Lee received a voice recording from our late friend's passing and I hope you listen to this very carefully," Inoichi said firmly and he tapped the mini flower to communicate the voice to them.

_"Hey… I know that I've broken the rules of the shinobi alliance. But if any of you are listening to this, please hear me out for once. I want to let you know that Katsumi is not who you think she is. Lately, my friends have discovered that Katsumi had stolen the forbidden scrolls in Gaara's office from the vault and has joined with the Akatsuki. She wants to destroy you as much as she had already destroyed me. If you guys see her, please stop her. She's somewhere wandering in the midst. I beg of you… I'm running out of time… I don't have long to live… Please…" the pink-haired kunoichi whispered quietly, then the voice recording had ended with a distorting signal, much to their dismay._

Naruto and the two leaf jounins were frozen on their spots, much to their dismay.

The leaf squad were astounded as to what they found out, but Ino, Neji, and Sai were not surprised at all since they knew who Katsumi truly is.

The Uchiha brothers were standing still, flabbergasted at the information. They didn't expect that Sakura would go this far.

"You heard her right. We must do our part now. She did hers already. That's all I can say to you. Be careful out there," Inoichi concluded as soon as he ended the telepathic communication, leaving the others in their own thoughts.

On the contrary, Itachi glanced at Sasuke, who widened his eyes appalled. He noticed that his younger brother's hands were shaking a little tensely and couldn't help but pity him.

"Sasuke… I'm so sorry," he muttered softly.

The dark-haired ninja closed his eyes and clenched his teeth as soon as he started to scream in anguish and threw a sharp kunai knife towards the rocky walls, causing fuel into flames.

_"No… Sakura…" he said remorsefully in his mind, denying that she's dead._

_Itachi sighed and thought quietly while gazing at him. "Let's not forget that you almost killed her twice, Sasuke. But deep down, you still care for her, despite the crimes that you committed. As I've said before, I hope that you are able to correct your mistakes and choose the right path once again…"_

Meanwhile, the four Kages were still fighting against the monsters that Madara had summoned, which they were struggling to defeat them one on one. So far, there was no good outcome that they made since their powers are growing stronger than theirs. Of course, they've heard what Inoichi said and were deeply saddened by the death of the pink-haired kunoichi. All they can right now is to beat the bastard above them and make him vanish.

"Heheheh… You don't stand a chance and you never will. This will be the end of all of you," the Uchiha said wickedly, much to their difficulty.

_"This is bad. All of us may end up losing at this rate. We got to act fast," Onoki said irritatingly in his mind._

"Damn it! Where the hell is the fifth Kazekage?!" Raikage A questioned with a growl.

"Calm down! Give him time. Trust me, he will be back like he promised," Mei retorted back defensively.

"Right. I gave him my permission to let him go and see his friend…" Tsunade answered.

Raikage A narrowed his eyes and looked away, then sighed in understanding. "Fine. But now what?! We need to make another plan. The most important thing is to find these little shitheads' weaknesses."

"Hmm. I agree," Tsunade nodded and said to herself in her mind. _"If only I was there for my student, she would be safe by now..."_

* * *

_TO BE CONTINUED..._


	30. Crisis

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* * *

After Itachi and the rest of the others disappeared into the dust of light, Sasuke was left alone once again in his discovery of his family's background history.

During that time, Kankuro was observing the surroundings when the rocky walls were starting to tremble. He panicked by saying. "Guys! We really need to go. This place will plunge down into pieces."

Temari glanced around and gave a nod at him, then she gazed down on her younger brother who was still holding the pink-haired kunoichi tightly with his eyes closed. She spoke out softly. "Gaara… We got to go. Let's hurry."

The red-haired Kazekage stood up on his feet, carrying Sakura in his arms. He opened his eyes and nodded quietly in response.

Kankuro and Temari looked at them pitifully, then they ran towards the edge without stopping. Gaara followed them from behind and they all reached to the top of the surface safely.

As soon as the rocks had fallen down onto the bottom pit, the three of them made a dash run until they rode on each of their own sand that the red-haired Kazekage had provided. They all drift away from the ruins that have already receded.

Later on, they arrived at one of the medical camps that was closest nearby and they've asked where they could put their friend into rest. A few of the medical kunoichis gestured them to one of the tents, leading them inside to where the empty bed is.

"You can lay her there. I'll wait for Ino Yamanaka to come back. She will assist her," the medical kunoichi reminded kindly.

"Thank you," Temari bowed down warmly.

"Thanks," Kankuro murmured and crossed his arms.

"You're welcome," she said, smiling and exited the tent to go out and take care of the other patients.

Gaara slowly placed Sakura's body gently in the bed and lightly stroked the strands of her hair away from her vacant face. He gazed down on her wistfully and closed his eyes.

Kankuro and Temari were also somber into their own thoughts as they stared at the pink-haired kunoichi.

"She may be gone, but we have to move on right now. There's barely enough time. We must not let Akatsuki win and take over us," the four ponytail-haired kunoichi stated and sighed despondently.

"You're right," the red-haired Kazekage agreed quietly.

"Hey! I'm here!" A familiar voice called out briskly, much to their startlement.

They turned around to see Ino panting breathlessly in surprise.

"Ino, thank goodness. Okay, we have to go and help the rest of the shinobi," Temari said smiling.

"Yeah. I'm glad I came here at just the right time," she answered, sighing out in relief.

"Hmm. Anyway, we'll see you around," Kankuro said with a slight smirk, but still felt melancholic.

Ino nodded in agreement until her eyes landed on the pink-haired kunoichi's lifeless body. She took a deep breath to hide her emotions and walked over to the spot.

Then, Gaara quickly grabbed her wrist lightly and whispered to her on the side of her face, saying. "Please… Take good care of her."

The blonde-haired kunoichi gulped and nodded in understanding silently. She glanced at them over her shoulder and watched them leave the tent as soon as possible. At that moment, she couldn't help but let her tears fall down on the ground where she turned her head back to look at Sakura once more.

Meanwhile, the four Kages were using a bunch of techniques to attack Madara.

"Fire Release Flame Dragon Howl!" Mei exclaimed as she performed a few hand signs and said to herself in annoyance. _"No… I will not make it in time!"_

Tsunade, on the other hand, had broken free from the chains and took charge.

"I'm alright now!" She said and realized how the strength of a hundred techniques disappeared in just about a few seconds.

Madara attempted to strike her, but missed when she hovered over to the side.

"What was that?!" Raikage A asked loudly.

"I thought she had completely lost consciousness," Onoki thought in puzzlement.

Tsunade heard a voice in her head calling out to her, which is none other than her lover Dan. He was the one who gave her power and healed her wounds, much to the Uchiha's slight curiosity.

"It seems that your vitality has returned. Did you get some chakra?" Madara asked.

"I met one of my old acquaintances," the fifth Hokage said smiling confidently.

"Madara's chakra was on the verge of leaving his body, but now it is firmly clinging to it. It came back?" Mei stared blankly.

"Why?! Why doesn't he disappear?! Edo Tensei should be released!" Raikage A pointed out angrily.

"There is just one risk that comes with this technique. If the person called from the impure world knows the seals, he can cancel the Edo Tensei summoning contract. An immortal body, infinite chakra, and he can no longer be controlled or suppressed," Madara explained.

"Impossible…" Onoki said in disbelief.

"You should tell the one who used this technique that he shouldn't use a forbidden one so carelessly," he exclaimed as he was performing one of his techniques to release.

Out of nowhere, Gaara had teleport with his arms crossed in a swirl of sand, causing them to turn their attention on him.

"Kazekage! You're back!" Mei said surprisingly.

"Took you long enough," Onoki said grinning.

"Hm. I see you've met up with your friend. How is she?" Madara asked slyly.

The red-haired Kazekage turned his head around and stared at the enemy above them with resentment in his eyes.

"Oh? She didn't make it, did she? That's unfortunate. No matter, soon you will eventually see her on the other side," the Uchiha said mockingly and started to laugh.

Then, a gigantic hand made of sand tried to pummel him through his right direction. Though, he immediately dodged his attack by jumping out of the way.

"You talk too much. We will take you down and you will rot in hell's core," Gaara said, staring at him deadly.

"Really? Let's see who goes first," Madara said, smirking viciously at them.

* * *

_TO BE CONTINUED..._


	31. Survivor

**Please read & review!**

* * *

The rest of the Team Hawk met up with Sasuke and informed him about Madara being alive, much to his astonishment. This also includes the Ten-Tails in which Naruto, Killerbee, and the two leaf jounins have been fighting. However, the mask broke into half after they attempted to strike him. They were befuddled at the man with the right side of his distorted face.

"Is that you?" Kakashi asked and continued on in disbelief. "No… You can't be. I thought you were-"

"Dead? Hah… Oh please, Kakashi. You're getting old," he scoffed.

"How did you manage to survive? After all this time," Kakashi asked, further narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

"Madara," he answered simply with a smirk coolly. "He saved me and I couldn't be more grateful. I was on the verge of death at that time and he found me unconscious. He showed me everything that I needed. Everything. Now with the powers I have, I shall kill you for murdering Rin because I still haven't forgiven you for that. I hold no interest in the affairs of this world that's about to disappear."

_"Shit… So these two did have a bad history," _Naruto looked at his sensei in the corner of his eyes, bewildered and clenched his teeth in annoyance. "But this is no time to feel guilty, Kakashi-sensei! I'll listen to what you have to say later!"

"He's right. We can't lose focus. Listen, Obito. Whatever it is, we will stop you," Guy declared determinedly.

"I have nothing to say to you, people. Die chained to this reality!" Obito exclaimed as he used his Rinnegan to unleash his technique. "Chaotic Dance of the Exploding Winds!"

All of a sudden, an enormous flames was spiraling immensely towards them. However, Naruto was able to deflect his attack with his Nine-Tails' chakra until the fire subsided.

Then, a manly figure with huge spiky hair appeared in front of them.

"What the-?!" Guy became astonished and puzzled.

"You seem to be having a lot of fun, Obito," the Uchiha guessed correctly.

"That guy is…" Naruto stuttered nervously when he realized the familiar face.

"That's Madara!" Kakashi and Guy pointed out.

"Hm. To think you could resist Edo Tensei, I guess that is to be expected from you," Obito said impressively while staring at him on the left side.

"Why…? Why is the Madara that was supposed to be over there here?!" Naruto questioned furiously.

"Madara… As in that Madara?!" Kakashi repeated suspiciously.

"It appears this one is a Shadow clone too. Obito, where is the real body?" Madara asked calmly.

"Oi. Naruto, if that's the case, then…" Killerbee trailed off of his words without finishing his sentence.

"What happened to everyone over there?!" The blonde-haired ninja questioned vehemently.

"Over there…?" Madara looked over his shoulder pretensely.

"I'm asking what you did to them?!" Naruto interrogated aggressively.

Madara answered slowly with a wicked smirk in amusement. "I wonder… I guess they're not doing so well…"

Naruto's eyes widened in fear and became more angrier with a growl, asking. "Then, what… what about Sakura?! What did you do to her?"

"I never did such a thing," Madara said dumbfounded.

"Don't bullshit me! You all did something, so tell me!" Naruto demanded.

Madara was still smirking at him and answered again. "One of our companions. She is such a useful pawn in our group."

"Wha-what do you mean 'she?'" Naruto asked, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.

"Ah. So you didn't know yet. My, my. Tobi, I thought you already told them about Katsumi," Madara said, glancing at him peculiarly.

"What?!" Naruto became even more skeptical and narrowed his eyes. "Don't tell me she-"

"Oh yes, kid. That's right. She killed her through her heart and stomach just like that," Madara said, nodding truthfully and started to chuckle darkly.

"You bastards! I swear, I will kill you both!" Naruto gritted his teeth, continuously glaring at them.

"Go ahead and try," Madara said daringly as they both prepared themselves into another fight.

When it was evening, Ino and the medical shinobi gathered around in the circle to display delicate flowers around the pink-haired kunoichi's burial in the underground. They prayed for her to rest with their eyes closed, then they proceeded to their work a couple of minutes later.

_FLASHBACK:_

_"Katsumi was the one who took her powers, which caused her to gradually weaken," Ino stammered, then started to fume._

_"Then, the only way to revive Sakura is what? Extract the powers from Katsumi?" Kiba asked curiously._

_"How? We barely have enough equipment or chakra," Choji pointed out with an anxious frown._

_"We can ask Lady Chiyo if she can give us the Life Transfer technique," Sai suggested and continued on. "Unfortunately, it's impossible to do that."_

_"Yeah, we figured," Ino said, nodding in agreement._

_"So then, the only option is for one of us to confront Katsumi," Shino said._

_"Certainly, because she needs to pay for what she did to our friend," Tenten said boldly._

_"Okay, I'll go meet up with Gaara and his siblings. They have her," Ino said, sighing out tiredly._

_"Alright, remind us if you need help," Sai noted._

_"I will," she stated and then left quickly once she started to make a run._

_"Be careful out there!" Hinata said concernedly._

_END OF FLASHBACK_

Back in the present time, the blonde-haired kunoichi was inside in another tent, making more antidotes and inserting them into the needles before she started to heal the unconscious patient lying on the bed. She was debating whether she should tell the red-haired Kazekage about Katsumi or let the leaf squad stop her wrongdoings. As of now, she doesn't have any clue as to what she needs to do. If only she had known Lady Chiyo like the others, she would be able to bring their friend back at any cost. The Life Transfer technique would take more years to master it unless there is another way.

"Ino!" One of the medical shinobi called out.

The blonde-haired kunoichi got startled back to reality when she glanced at her blankly. "Yes? What is it?"

The dark blue-haired kunoichi was breathing heavily and informed. "There are three ninjas who are in their serious conditions, but non-life threatening."

"Okay, I'll be there soon," she said, finishing up the last drops and injecting the needle to the patient's right arm.

Concurrently at that moment, a hand made a sudden outburst off of the underground, grabbing onto the soil firmly at a greater distance in which it is about to uncover...

* * *

_TO BE CONTINUED..._


	32. Riddle

**_The closer they are,_**

**_The closer is the truth..._**

Tsunade summoned the slug to heal her and her comrades, whereas the battle hasn't stopped between the leaf and the two Uchihas. Though, the Ten-Tailed beast started to go on a rampage, causing them to stumble on the fallen rocks while Kurama, the Nine-Tails, has been giving Naruto and the others some extra support.

Before 11 pm, the rest of the shinobi allies finally arrived at the scene from every division squads, uniting together to stop the Infinite Tsukuyomi that is about to occur. The dark brunette hopped beside Obito, much to everyone's perplexity.

"What the-?! What is she doing? She's with them all this time?" Kakashi questioned shockingly.

"Yeah… It's hard to believe, but it is true," Sai stated calmly.

Naruto glanced behind them and asked in wonder. "Since you're all here, where is Sakura?"

The leaf squad and the others were fidgeting nervously and looked away, making him even more suspicious.

"Hey…! Why aren't you all answering?" The blonde-haired ninja demanded annoyingly.

"The thing is… she's gone…" Hinata whispered.

Naruto stared at them scarcely and said faintly. "I don't believe you…"

"Listen, we tried to stop Katsumi, but she was too strong-" Sai was about to finish his explanation, but got interrupted quickly.

"The hell do I care?! I just want to know if Sakura is safe. That's all!" Naruto argued quietly.

"But she's not," Kiba said calmly, much to his shock.

"Hehehe… I guess I'm not the one who doesn't accept reality. Face it, Naruto. You and I are the same," Obito pointed out with a smirk.

"You're right. We are, but I have chosen a path for myself and that is me defeating you both," the blonde-haired ninja said with a death glare at him while clenching his fists tightly.

"I'm going now, I have business to attend with my fiance," Katsumi said, smirking evilly as she stared down at him and the others' indignation.

Back in one of the medical camps, Ino and her teammates have discharged the patients out of the tents, sending them to their homes. At that moment, they heard a scream outside in which they became more alert.

"What's going on?" She asked suspiciously and exited the tent.

"Help! Guys!"

She and the others were heading towards the direction where the medical ninja was calling until they all reached the underground area. Her eyes were examining the soil that was scattered around below, forming a circle, much to their skepticism.

"What happened here?" Ino questioned, furrowing her eyebrows in puzzlement.

"Her body… is missing…" the medical ninja said slowly.

Ino's eyes went horrified as she gasped slightly, whereas the others were murmuring in fear amongst themselves.

"How?" She asked further.

"I-I don't know. When I came here to check, I only saw this. I didn't see what had happened before," the medical ninja explained worriedly.

_"Could it be that she's…?" Ino thought peculiarly in mind and continued on by saying. _"Okay. You don't have to panic. I will look for her and inform my friends about this."

"Sure, Ms. Yamanaka," the medical ninja bowed politely and hopped on the top beside them.

"You guys can go on ahead. I'll deal with this issue asap," Ino said firmly, which they nodded and left to go back to their work.

During that time, the five Kages have recently been patched up by the huge slug that was healing them right after Madara attacked them brutally with his techniques. Thankfully, Tsunade was able to stand up quickly.

"Ugh. He was so serious, but at the same time sarcastic," she remarked.

"That bastard… Anyway, we need to join the rest. We can't be lying down here and letting them fight on their own," Raikage A growled in annoyance.

"Calm down, will you? We'll be there soon in just about a few seconds," Tsunade rolled her eyes at his aggressiveness.

"So, we've all heard about Katsumi's deed?" Onoki mentioned.

The red-haired Kazekage fluttered his eyes open and asked blankly. "What do you mean?"

The kages looked at him confusedly when Mei said surprisingly. "I thought you already knew? Inoichi had informed everyone, especially when he shared your friend's voice recording through the telecommunication signal."

"I didn't receive anything, neither did my siblings. I was in the very bottom of the pit," Gaara answered and continued on. "Why…? What happened?"

Mei looked down and secretly glanced at Tsunade, who sighed and decided to speak up instead.

"Your fiance, Katsumi… is the one who killed Sakura," she concluded.

Gaara's eyes widened in dismay and shook his head in disbelief. "That's impossible."

"Really? You're not going to believe when everybody else knows about what she did? Gaara, she was the only person who would do anything to gain such power," the fifth Hokage stated sternly and continued on. "Go see for yourself."

The red-haired Kazekage didn't bother to reply back as he disappeared in a swirl of sand, leaving the rest of the four kages once again.

Onoki scoffed. "Sometimes the young can be smart and naive at the same time."

Mei shook her head and sighed tiredly. "Well, at least he's going to find out now."

As the Ten-Tails was unleashing its power out of its huge mouth, the dark sphere was striking towards all the shinobi's direction in which they quickly dodged. Naruto was mostly buying everyone time to strategize their plans against the enemies.

The shinobi of the hidden mist used lightning elements: lightning pillar of light and laser circus simultaneously to blind the Ten-tails and hindering Obito and Madara's movements.

The shinobi of the hidden sand were the second ones to perform the wind element chaotic dance of turbulence towards them, making the enemies have a difficulty to get a clear focus target on them.

_"The other villages only shared information about their jutsus with them recently, but he can already maximize their full potential in a real battle. As expected of Shikamaru's old man," Temari said, smirking impressively in mind._

"Sensing them is virtually impossible given the circumstances," Madara said with his arms crossed.

"We can simply take the reigns of the Ten-tails and let him go wild!" Obito pointed out.

Then, the shinobi of the hidden rock used earth element-terrains core movement that causes the ground to quake underneath the creature's body, especially when they used Magma element-coagulating ash.

Again, the shinobi of the hidden mist used water bullets to shoot liquid splashes towards them.

Lastly, the shinobi of the hidden leaf used fire great embers technique, heating up the mixture of ash and water as a result of the enormous attack against the Ten-tails. Thus, they turned into a concrete prison around it, much to Madara's amusement.

"Unbelievable. To think those five villages could coordinate their attack so efficiently…" he said sarcastically and watched Naruto attempting to attack the tailed beast with his Rasengan. Him and Obito ridiculed by the fact that their jutsu wouldn't work on them.

Once the shinobi allies were hurtling their techniques, the Ten-tails immediately flipped them off dismissively after growing up maturely in its true form, much to their astonishment. They all wondered why their attacks on the Ten-tails failed as they became severely injured at the sudden eruption. Luckily, the medical team was there to assist them.

Unfortunately, the Ten-tails powerful attack was aiming at the specific distant location to where Shikaku and Inoichi are. Both of them had informed everyone that they are about to sacrifice their lives for all of them. In return, there was a sudden explosion in that area, saddening Shikamaru and Ino at the loss of their brave fathers.

Meanwhile, Katsumi was running at a fast pace to look for the red-haired Kazekage. But as soon as she was about to hop on the other side of the hill, a sand snaked around her ankles in a tight grip, causing her to slip forwardly.

"Gaah!" She cried out as she tried to get up, but was then grabbed by the neck. She kept squirming to break free from the sand's grasp. Eventually, it was squeezing her out of breath.

The sand revealed the figure's pair of jaded eyes filled with wrath and resentment.

"Gaara…!" Katsumi exclaimed in fear and groaned.

"Why…?" He whispered quietly.

The dark brunette pretended to be dumbfounded and asked sweetly. "Why what?"

"Why did you do it? Why would you do such a cruel thing to her?" Gaara asked faintly.

Katsumi was chuckling nervously and stammered. "I-I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Stop acting so innocent! Tell me! You and I both know what you did…" Gaara gritted his teeth angrily.

Katsumi dropped her act when her expression started to change into a malicious smirk. "Oh well, you got me, sir Kazekage…"

She disappeared in a puff of purple poisonous smoke, which Gaara backed away further from it.

Katsumi appeared again and started to laugh derisively. "So what if I did? She is such a pest that got in my way..."

"You're a monster," the red-haired Kazekage said quietly, holding back his anger.

"Hah and that's why you and I are perfect for each other. We are born monsters, Gaara darling. Isn't that quite delightful?" The dark brunette said, grinning widely from ear to ear.

"No, because you and I are far different now. You see, I'm not the same person that I was before. That was the old me in the past. My father was the person who manipulated me to turn into a monster. Things have changed for me when I let my eyes open to see the truth," the red-haired Kazekage stated calmly.

"I came along, didn't I? I helped you when nobody else does," Katsumi sneered.

"That is true… You did. You helped me survive," Gaara said, nodding in understanding.

"Then, join me. We can rule the world together in the Infinite Tsukuyomi. We would be happy there," Katsumi smirked insanely as she held her hand gently towards him.

"No," Gaara answered shortly.

"Why not?" Katsumi asked, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion.

"Because I accept reality over some mere illusion that you and the Akatsuki have created," Gaara pointed out and continued on. "I'm sorry but you're not going anywhere."

Katsumi burst out laughing hysterically and sighed mockingly, then she became more serious when her eyes grew darker. "Then I guess I will have to kill you, my lover…"

The red-haired Kazekage raised his two fingers up between his lips to perform his Sand Hail technique, whereas the dark brunette kept smirking at him while she whispered intently to herself.

"Illusion Vision State of Mind."

All of a sudden, Gaara closed his eyes and flashed behind her to wrap the sand around her body, caging in on her until he leaned over to her.

"This is it," he declared and performed one of his sand techniques to seal away her powers.

However, it was futile when he was starting to get drowsy and dropped down on his knees. Though, the sand was automatically protecting him, which Katsumi had noticed.

"Your defense shield will be useless once you are trapped under my hypnosis spell," she said and performed another. "Mind Control Shock."

"Argh!" Gaara cried out when his brain was being zapped in electrocution, causing him to lose focus on her. He was clutching onto his neck, but he couldn't resist the pain.

"Looks like you are open. Good-bye!" Katsumi concluded when she was about to stab him with the sword full of poison.

As soon as she attacked him, the red-haired Kazekage eventually dissolved into sand particles, much to Katsumi's puzzlement and annoyance.

"What?! Ugh!" The dark brunette stomped her foot and quickly glanced around, but he was nowhere to be seen.

At that moment on, he stood on top of the other boulder and exclaimed. "Sand Tsunami!"

"What?! No!" Katsumi tried to hop out of the sand, but it was dragging her legs down, making her panic in fear. "No, Gaara! Please don't do this!"

The red-haired Kazekage was gazing down on her, saying. "I'm not going to kill you. I will imprison you until you are about to get drowned. You better give me some clear explanations."

"I already did! I've told you my reason. That reason is because I'm tired of living in someone else's shadow. You haven't been giving me enough of your time, especially when you are always busy with work," the dark brunette pointed out loudly.

"I have. I've given you everything you've ever wanted. I have cared for you," Gaara said, crossing his arms.

"No you haven't. I never felt that. I never felt you were there. Your mind is always somewhere else," Katsumi yelled vehemently.

The red-haired Kazekage shook his head in disbelief. "That is not true. If I haven't, then we wouldn't get engaged. Why are you overanalyzing this? You went away to travel abroad. I've sent you letters and you've never responded to them."

"Hmph! I was away for business meetings," the dark brunette said.

"With some other fellows," the red-haired Kazekage guessed correctly, making her eyes widened in astonishment and embarrassment.

"The hell are you on about?" Katsumi asked, raising an eyebrow in disgust.

"Don't play dumb with me. I've heard it from my brother Kankuro," Gaara said calmly.

"Argh! That asshole! He's lying! Why would you believe what he says?!" The dark brunette pointed out.

"He saw you. He caught a glimpse of you offering a deal with some other man that you barely even know. You were ca-hooting with a stranger or should I say flirting, perhaps?" The red-haired Kazekage paused for a moment as he noticed her get flustered angrily with a scream at him. He continued on, saying. "You wanted your business to flourish by using seduction and charm while we are in a relationship. Like I've said, I've given you everything…"

Katsumi glared at him and yelled indignantly. "No! You haven't! You never cared for me at all!"

The red-haired Kazekage retorted back. "I have! But you refuse to believe that everything I've worked for is for you. You kept letting yourself be in denial or paranoid for that matter. You're putting these crazy nonsense inside your head! I've been loyal to you and made commitments in our relationship."

"Hah! And yet, you're scolding me that I'm in denial when you are also one?!" Katsumi remarked nastily.

"What do you mean?" Gaara questioned blankly.

"Oh, please… See? That's the problem with you. You don't figure out your true feelings!" Katsumi pointed out in frustration as she rolled her eyes coldly at him.

Gaara got startled at her words when she mentioned them. He didn't know what to say right after when his eyes were glistening in thought because she was starting to imply.

* * *

_TO BE CONTINUED..._


	33. Gaara's Resolve

**There are four important chapters for you to read, so find out what's going to happen next. ;)**

* * *

"What about them?" The red-haired Kazekage asked.

"You know exactly what I mean," the dark brunette scoffed while staring at him deadly and continued on. "

"Gaara!" A voice called out, making their heads turn to look at who it was.

The purple-faced ninja and the others came down to the ground to where the dark brunette is being held.

"Kankuro! What are you all doing here?" Gaara asked blankly.

"I figured you need help since it will be time consuming for you fighting against her," he said, breathing heavily.

"Hah! It wouldn't take longer if you hadn't come. Plus, I would've finished him off in just about any minute and just stripped the title off of him, so I can be the Kazekage," Katsumi stated menacingly and added in. "Not to forget that I want to destroy all of your bonds that you have with everyone, so you would be left alone!"

"You have nothing but a jealous and insecure person that you are. Send her away. She's been far too brainwashed by them," Gaara ordered sternly while crossing his arms.

Kankuro and his teammates nodded in response and followed his instruction. They lifted her body up from the sand's grasp and quickly knocked her out unconsciously, using a powerful deep sleep technique.

As a result, they put her inside a box and carefully lifted it up together before they left.

Gaara gazed down at the sight of his fiance being taken away, which made him frown.

Kankuro glanced at them, then back at him and asked for reassurance. "Hey... You alright, bro?"

The red-haired Kazekage sighed tiredly with his eyes closed and hopped down on the ground and said monotonously. "Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, for a second, I thought you were about to lose your shit or something," Kankuro said, nodding firmly.

"I'm fine... I was beginning to realize something," the red-haired Kazekage said, looking up towards the sky peacefully.

"That your fiance is the most obsessed, deceitful, and selfish person?" Kankuro emphasized it slowly as he secretly glanced at him in the corner of his eyes.

The red-haired Kazekage didn't say anything and just continued to look up at the clear skies.

Kankuro sighed and said gently. "Hey, it's okay if you feel that she hasn't been a good partner to you."

"I suppose so..." He said softly as he trailed off of his words.

"Hey!" Another voice called out, causing them to look at the person hovering in the air and jumping down in front of them.

"Temari!" Kankuro exclaimed and asked. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be on the battlefield right now?"

"Yes, but I was worried about you two. I couldn't let you guys go off alone and fight. After what happened to Shikamaru and Ino's dads, I thought it would be best if we stayed together," Temari said with a frown.

"Awww, Tem. You do have such a soft spot," Kankuro gushed cheekily with a wide grin.

Temari rolled her eyes at him annoyingly, yet she smiled at his dorkiness. "Yeah, well. We are a family, right?"

"Indeed, we are," Gaara said, smiling.

The three of them eventually embraced each other in a group circle comfortingly, then he suddenly remembered the times where his dearest friend was there for him and still couldn't forget about her.

_FLASHBACK: _

"_What's the matter? Is there something on my face? You're looking at me funny," the pink-haired kunoichi pouted angrily and looked away._

"_No. I think you are adorable. I'm impressed by how far you've come. You are strong, you know," the red-haired Kazekage stated while gazing at her intensely._

"_Really? I mean, I feel like I haven't done enough in my life. But I found myself to where I've finally accepted who I am and the parts of it that nobody sees before," the pink-haired kunoichi glancing at him softly and chuckled slightly._

"_That is why you are one of a kind. You are the most rare type of person that people have ever seen," the red-haired Kazekage said, smiling._

"_Yeah. It's too bad that Sasuke hasn't been seeing me train and work so hard for these years. You and everyone else are the ones who kept acknowledging me to the point where I almost gave up," the pink-haired kunoichi explained. _

"_And you didn't," the red-haired Kazekage said with a nod, then he places his hand on top of hers, making her eyes land on theirs. "Sakura…"_

_The pink-haired kunoichi looked up at him and asked blankly. "What is it, Gaara?"_

_The red-haired Kazekage gazed at her beautiful green orbs in her eyes and couldn't help but be mesmerized by them and said faintly. "I...I'm proud of you."_

_The pink-haired kunoichi blinked her eyes and giggled. "Didn't you already say that to me before?"_

_The red-haired Kazekage chuckled at himself cluelessly and agreed. "Right… Yeah. But I truly want to ask you if the two of us can have lunch together-"_

_The pink-haired kunoichi wrapped her arms around him, much to his surprise. "Of course."_

_His eyes widened astonishingly at her sudden embrace in which he gladly returned mutually, causing him to develop a pink tinge on his cheeks._

"_Thank you…" he whispered to her. _

_END OF FLASHBACK_

Abruptly, they heard a spark that was shooting towards the sky, signaling a cherry blossom flower, alarming them as to what is happening.

"What is that?!" Temari asked blankly.

"Could it be…?" Kankuro stammered as they all watched the sign glow brighter pink.

"Kankuro, Temari. I'll be back. I need to go and find Sakura..." the red-haired Kazekage trailed off of his words by the tone of his voice.

"Why...?"

"Because I need to tell her what I should've done a long time ago."

The rest of the shinobi allies had their eyes widened in shock and confusion, but Kankuro had the widest grin, whereas they were astonished.

"What is it?" One of the jounin asked.

"Wait, are you serious? Right now? But we are in the middle of war here-" the second ninja got interrupted when Temari elbowed him to stop ranting.

"Kay," he grunted in a slight pain and smiled awkwardly.

"Look, if it's about the misunderstanding, then-"

"No... It's not that," Gaara shook his head.

"Then what is it? What do you want to tell her?"

"Yeah, bro. Why the sudden rush?" Kankuro asked curiously.

The red-haired Kazekage tilted his head down with his eyes closed for a moment until he reopened them.

They all stood in silence as they waited for him to respond.

Gaara's lips curled into a genuine smile that nobody had ever expected or thought of when he mouthed the words slowly. "I'm in love with her..."

* * *

_TO BE CONTINUED..._


	34. Sakura's True Feelings

**_I know what they are all going to ask me…_**

**_How did I survive?_**

**_I was given another chance to live by Lady Chiyo_**

**_Now, here I am._**

**_Alive and well…_**

_FLASHBACK:_

_"Young lady, I know how much you are deeply hurting right now after trying to fight the enemy. However, it does not have to be this way. You're too young to have your life being taken away and yes, Katsumi may be considered to be strong but it is because she was given extra powers from the Akatsuki. Why would you give up so easily?" The elderly woman explained softly while they were both standing on the cliff, staring at the sun setting across the ocean ._

_"Because I thought I was strong as well. I thought I was able to capture her when in fact I couldn't. Anyway, I did my part. This is my fate and I've got to accept that. I accepted my life, my whole existence as a kunoichi and now, I need to accept death," the pink-haired kunoichi explained with a frown._

_The elderly woman stared at her observantly and began to speak quietly. "Let me ask you this question and I want an honest, specific answer… What are you afraid of?"_

_The pink-haired kunoichi was standing still on her spot and said. "My heart."_

_"Why? Why are you so afraid of it?" She asked gently._

_"I'm afraid of letting people in. I'm afraid of hurting them and may push them away, even though I don't want to," the pink-haired kunoichi said._

_"Is that the only reason or is there something else?" Lady Chiyo interrogated._

_The pink-haired kunoichi closed her eyes, then reopened them and was hesitant to answer._

_"You know, there is nothing to be afraid of love, Sakura. You were capable of loving Sasuke despite the fact that he's a wanted criminal. Do you still love him?" Lady Chiyo asked kindly._

_"I do, but…" she trailed off of her words and tilted her head down shyly._

_"Ah. Now I see the problem there," she said, nodding in understanding and continued on. "You have complicated feelings and you don't know what to do with them. Is that correct?"_

_"Yes," the pink-haired kunoichi answered shortly._

_"Hmm," Lady Chiyo hummed in response and said. "How complicated are they?"_

_"A little complicated," the pink-haired kunoichi gave a slight chuckle._

_"I see. Listen, it's okay to love him the way you love others as well, my dear. From what I can tell, your history with Sasuke was certainly a confusing one," the elderly woman said thoughtfully. She sighed as she walked over to her to place her hand on Sakura's shoulder. "What about him?"_

_"Huh?! What do you mean, lady Chiyo?" The pink-haired kunoichi got startled for a second._

_"Young lady, I've seen the way you look at him when you two are together sometimes. Your eyes bright up and your smile glows like you never want those moments to end. I do not want to compare him with Sasuke because you equally love them so dearly. Unfortunately, one has to stand taller than the other. That's the reality. You can't have everything, but there are some things that you can. You just have to choose wisely. Sakura, I lived longer in life as an old woman and I've known these things when it comes to love," Lady Chiyo explained and held her hand, much to the pink-haired kunoichi's puzzlement._

_"What is it?" She asked._

_"Young lady, I'm giving you the life that you are supposed to have. The life that you deserve. You are not weak. You've always been strong since the very beginning. Strength doesn't always come from physical combat, but it comes from there," the elderly woman pointed her finger on where her heart is._

_The pink-haired kunoichi looked down on her chest, then towards her direction asking blankly. "Lady Chiyo… What are you saying?"_

_"Sakura. You said that you have complicated feelings. Now, I'm giving you this opportunity, so that you can figure them all out on your own because I know you will make the right choice. Do not take this for granted, which I know you wouldn't," the elderly woman said warmly as soon as she began to perform her techniques that were forming a light upon their hands together. "See you again, my dear."_

_The pink-haired kunoichi's eyes were glistening into tears and smiled wholeheartedly at her with a curt nod. "Thank you, Lady Chiyo…"_

_END OF FLASHBACK_

Her heart was starting to race, whereas her footsteps were increasing the amount of speed that she was running towards where the battle was being held upfront. Her fists were clenched tightly as her eyes began to sharpen in determination.

She recalled back to those memories where she and Sasuke had an argument about the curse mark that he received from Orochimaru and should tell Naruto. Right after the chunin exams, leaving the hidden leaf village had left his two teammates devastated, especially finding out that Sasuke had chosen the path of darkness.

At that time, she remembered when she fought against him and was almost killed by him twice.

_"Did I really love him entirely or did I love his only side?" She wondered to herself._

She hopped onto different sides of the rocks and continued on in her mind. _"Sasuke has definitely changed. All I kept thinking to myself that he was a victim at that time where he lost his parents and his whole clan. It wasn't his fault to become a murderer because they made him that way. Although, he has the free will to make any decision that he wants. Maybe I kept thinking and hoping to myself that he would actually change. I guess I was hoping that he would love me back. Where did that lead me to?"_

She sighed and was running nonstop, still figuring out what the answer was to her problem until she started to remember her friend.

_FIRST FLASHBACK:_

_The red-haired Kazekage was staring right back at her without breaking the eye contact and placed his hand on top of hers in reply. "Because... You are still my best friend... I couldn't let anything worse happen to you. I couldn't let you go off and fight Sasuke all by yourself. I'm glad that Naruto and Kakashi were there to help. Do you honestly think I would forget you and not protect you anymore?"_

_The pink-haired kunoichi paused for a moment when her tears were starting to form in her eyes and fall with a single drop. She was shaking her head and began to cry. She slowly brushes her hair through her fingers in frustration, saying. "I... I just... I can't let you or anyone take this burden. I can't stand seeing you guys facing this problem all the time with Sasuke... Gaara, I'm sorry...!"_

_She quickly embraced him with a tight hug and leaned her head on his right shoulder. He reciprocated when he wrapped his arms around her waist while holding onto her._

_END OF THE FIRST FLASHBACK_

_SECOND FLASHBACK:_

_The red-haired Kazekage embraced her warmly, much to her astonishment as she tried to hide the blush on her cheeks. She returned the same thing and never felt so relieved, so safe in his arms._

_As soon as the two had let go of each other, the pink-haired kunoichi was staring into his eyes intensely and wondered how she was feeling towards him._

_END OF THE SECOND FLASHBACK_

Back in the present time, the pink-haired kunoichi kept on going without stopping.

_"I was expecting Sasuke to love me and that was wrong… I finally realized that I fell in love with the wrong person when this whole time, it was someone else that I was searching for. I was looking for that missing piece in my heart and it was him."_

Then, she stopped by and noticed from the far view that the rest of the shinobi allies were currently fighting a gigantic monster that was about to obliterate half of the battlefield area.

_Her eyes became bolder and brighter than ever before and said. "Everyone… I'm coming…_

* * *

_TO BE CONTINUED..._


	35. In The Name of Love

_**If I told you this was only gonna hurt,**_

_**If I warned you that the fire's gonna burn, would you walk in? **_

_**Would you let me do it first?**_

_**Do it all in the name of love...**_

The Ten-Tails were getting ready to strike them with sharp spears when Hinata went over to protect Naruto.

"This is the end of you! Now die!" Obito exclaimed maliciously.

"No!" Neji yelled as he went over to cover them both with his arms wide open.

A loud scream was echoed through the surroundings when all of a sudden, there was a bright pink barrier shielding everyone and deflecting the weapons away from them.

They gasped in shock after fluttering their eyes to see that they were secured and looked around carefully.

"What?! How is that possible? Who might be…? You…!" Obito yelled vehemently, seething in anger as his eyes landed over to where the figure was standing across from him, puzzling the others in awe. "You're alive?!"

"Well, well, if it isn't Tsunade's most favorite student. I must say, you quitely managed to overcome that agonizing pain you must be feeling when you were dying on your last breath. And here you are. I guess heaven is so kind to spare your poor soul," Madara remarked sarcastically with a sigh.

"Her name is Lady Chiyo and yes, I was given another second chance to live. I'm surprised that you also managed to survive the Edo Tensei yourself," the pink-haired kunoichi stated calmly and jumped down on the ground without breaking eye contact coldly at them while everyone else was staring at her in shock.

"Sakura… Is that really you?" Hinata asked happily as her tears began to fall down on her cheeks.

"Woah, girl. It's like you've woken up from a deep sleep," Tenten said, chuckling and continued on. "I'm glad that you're back. We missed you."

"Yeah. It felt like forever," Kiba said exasperatingly, then smirked gladly at her.

"Sakura!" Ino said, panting breathlessly when she arrived at the scene and hugged her tightly.

The pink-haired kunoichi returned her embrace and smiled warmly at them, then saw Naruto approaching her slowly.

"You're here… But were you gone before?" He asked faintly with a frown.

"Hmm," she hummed in response.

"I see. It's good that you're back and well. I know that you're safe. I just don't want to believe that you were dead for a couple of hours, ya know," the blonde-haired ninja said, chuckling and continued on. "I'm so happy that you're here. How is Lady Chiyo, by the way?"

The pink-haired kunoichi smiled and said. "She's better."

Naruto nodded in understanding and became serious. "Hey, listen. These Uchiha guys. They're not on the same level as us. They're very powerful, especially when they have the Mangekyou and Rinnegan at the same time."

At that moment, the three sand siblings were hovering down to the ground as soon as the sand had disappeared underneath their feet.

"Sakura!" Kankuro and Temari's eyes widened in surprise as they came up running and wrapped their arms around her.

"We missed you!" The four ponytail-haired kunoichi said, chuckling contentedly.

"It's great that you're back!" The purple-faced ninja said, smirking.

"Hmm," the pink-haired kunoichi hummed in response.

"Sakura…" a voice called out gently behind them, then they let go of each other's embrace.

The pink-haired kunoichi blinked her eyes twice when she started to gaze over towards the red-haired Kazekage, who was breathing heavily and looking at her profoundly.

Though, they broke off their eye contact quickly when they both heard another voice calling out her name, revealing the dark-haired ninja and the rest of the Team Hawk's appearance.

"Sakura," he whispered in a husky voice and immediately hugged her, much to Naruto and everyone's bewilderment.

Kankuro and Temari looked at each other until they checked to see the disappointment displayed in their younger brother's face.

"Sasuke…" the pink-haired kunoichi murmured softly against his shoulder after returning the hug shyly.

"I missed you," he said closely to her ear.

"What is that criminal doing here?" Kiba clenched his teeth in annoyance.

"Shh. Just let them be," Tenten hushed him quietly as they continued to watch the two unexpectedly hugging one another.

When Sasuke let her go, he looked at her in guilt with his eyes full of melancholy, saying. "Sakura… I'm so sorry for everything I've caused you. After hearing that you were gone, I started to realize that I do care about you. Your death made me realize that I have feelings towards you."

The pink-haired kunoichi swallowed a hard lump in her throat as her voice croaked out and tears were beginning to form in her eyes dolefully. "I forgive you. But why now? Why tell me this now, Sasuke?"

The dark-haired ninja looked away regretfully and said sincerely. "Because I like you more than just a friend."

The pink-haired kunoichi paused for a moment while she was staring at him and said with a smile. "I like you too."

The others gasped slightly in astonishment, whereas Kankuro and Temari became despondent.

"However, I see you differently," Sakura answered simply and bit her bottom lip.

Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and asked. "What do you mean?"

"When we were kids, I was one of those girls who were attracted to you and with you being part of Team 7 made me a lot of happier. We spent so much time together working on some other missions with Naruto and Kakashi until you decided to leave the village. Mostly, you decided to leave us. That was the time when everything we had started to fall apart. Naruto and I were the ones who wouldn't stop chasing after you and we never wanted you to dive into the path of darkness, yet you've chosen it because you had a reason to, which we tried to understand. And I kept hoping that you would change and you did... I kept hoping that you would choose the right path for yourself, but you still didn't. Sasuke, I really meant what I said when I confessed my love for you at that time of your departure. But you've brought enough damage here, yet I still care about you. And it was my fault that I allowed myself," the pink-haired kunoichi explained hoarsely as she was holding her tears back angrily, whereas Naruto and the others were watching them sadly, then she continued on. "You're the person who takes care of people, but you're also the person who hurts them…"

The dark-haired ninja gazed down at her remorsefully and didn't respond back as he continued to listen to her.

"Though, I still believe that there is hope for you because you're my friend and nothing is going to change that. I will never forget what you taught me and... I'm sorry that I don't feel the same anymore because... I'm in love with somebody else," Sakura concluded, much to everyone's shock.

"What?!" They replied in unison.

"Ah?!" Choji exclaimed.

"Huh?!" Kiba yelled vehemently.

Sasuke got startled and was shaking his head in disbelief when he was watching her walk away from him.

The pink-haired kunoichi was taking a few steps towards the red-haired Kazekage, who was staring at her in puzzlement. His heart began to race when she held his hands together before she started to speak up.

"The first time that I met you in the park, you were the only boy who protected me from those kids, who were bullying me and was about to hit me. I was thankful that you were the one who saved me from my loneliness because I didn't have friends at that time. I wasn't there for you when you needed help the most and after seeing you in the chunin exams, I was hurt when I found out that you became cold and dark because of what your father had done to you. He made the monster out of you that everyone had seen in you. But I didn't believe all of that because you are more than just a monster. Despite our shortcomings, we survived through those difficulties and hardships. We spent a lot of time eating our favorite food and other snacks and I wish we could have more moments," she paused for a moment with a chuckle, then continued on with a frown. "But after you got engaged to Katsumi, I started to suppress my feelings because I didn't want to admit that they could be something more than just being friends with you. I didn't want to ruin our friendship. I didn't want to ruin what you both have."

The red-haired Kazekage continued to stare at her intensely with his mouth agape and asked. "What are you saying?"

Sakura closed her eyes for a moment until she began to speak out in a shaky tone of her voice. "I love you, Gaara..."

She leaned in closer and wrapped her arms around him in which the red-haired Kazekage gladly returned.

"I love you too," he said genuinely.

Everyone got startled at their words, whereas the leaf squad had their jaws dropped in amazement. Naruto and Lee smiled at them wholeheartedly at the sight of them while Sasuke sighed sadly, but nodded in understanding.

As the two lifted their heads up, they slowly leaned in as their lips pressed against each other passionately, much to the others' loud cheer and whistle.

Kankuro, Temari, and Ino squealed in delight as their tears of joy formed in their eyes.

"My, my, how the two lovebirds have finally reunited. Pathetic," Madara remarked nastily.

Gaara and Sakura let go of each other as the two narrowed their eyes up at them silently.

"Oh yeah! Well, you and that ugly face man are the most pathetic. You both are going down, assholes!" Kiba catcalled them, whereas the rest of the shinobi allies agreed with an angry cry out loud.

"Yeah!" All replied in unison.

"We'll see about that, you wretched souls," Obito sneered.

"This is just the beginning for all of us, then," Naruto smirked coolly once he transformed into the Nine-Tails mode and passed the chakra to everyone to increase their power.

Gaara glanced at Sakura and asked softly. "You alright?"

"I am. I'm ready to fight. Are you?" She asked while looking at him concernedly.

"Hmm," he replied, then he folded his hand with hers as their fingers intertwined admiringly. "Never forget this, Sakura. I promise you I will protect you always until-"

"The day I die…" they both finished the sentence as they stared at one another full of warmth and passion, preparing themselves to finish what must be done.

**They will conquer all in the name of love.**

* * *

_TO BE CONTINUED..._


	36. This One's For You

**This is the final chapter, but the next story of the war will be summarized shortly.**

**Please read & review!**

* * *

After Sakura had gained her life back, she has improved her powers well enough to fight alongside with her friends against the two Uchihas and the Ten-Tails. Naruto has passed the Nine-Tails chakra onto everyone around him, especially Gaara and Sakura. They were both amazed at how strong their friend truly is. On the other hand, Neji wouldn't have survived if it wasn't for Sakura's help since he was willing to sacrifice his life for Hinata and Naruto. Yet, he was being spared. Everyshinobi's power has been upgraded and overflowing their bodies where Hinata and the rest of the leaf squad uses their own techniques to prevent the Ten-Tails attacks on them, especially when Ino and Shikamaru teamed up together to perform the Binding-Mind Transfer Jutsu. Therefore, it causes the creature's movements. The previous Hokages from the leaf villages were reincarnated by Orochimaru and they were all astonished that they arrived when they noticed that the enormous tree had finally formed.

Unfortunately, the Nine-Tails power was starting to wear out since it only has a time limit. Luckily, Sakura was capable of healing Naruto after exhausting himself. One of the allies started to complain, so she decided to give him a lecture.

"We've made it this far. Quit whining and grow a pair. Our friend is doing everything in his power to help us any way he can. He made it perfectly clear just now," she explained desperately.

"You're right... He's been pushing himself to the brink and looking after every shinobi like us," the other ninja ally agreed with a smirk.

"That's not what I mean. It's the fact that he thinks of all of us as comrades from the bottom of his heart," the pink-haired kunoichi pointed out and continued on strongly. "I'll get Naruto good as new. We all have to do our part here, so if we're going to die now. At least rather die than running away cowardly. Let's all perish with our heads held high."

Gaara smiled at his girlfriend and couldn't be more proud at how far she came. He was impressed by the way she is taking leadership and ensuring that they are able to fight properly.

"Eyy, she's right, ya know," Kankuro said, chuckling.

"Yep. This is our battle," Temari said, placing her hand on her hip while holding onto her huge fan.

"I'll be taking care of anyone who is in need of medical care. You better focus," Sakura said determinedly.

"Heh. Aye aye, madam," Shikamaru smirked coolly at her. "Ino. There's someone I need you to patch me through to."

"Alright," she replied with a smile as soon as she placed her hand upon his forehead to communicate with everyone in mind.

From that moment on, the rest of the Hokages performed the Formation of Four Red Suns technique, including Hermit Arts - Gate of the Great God simultaneously against the Ten-Tails.

On the other hand, Team 7 started to reunite after knowing that Naruto, Sasuke, and the others want to pursue the dream of becoming a Hokage.

"Okay! Let's kick some ninja asses!" The blonde-haired ninja exclaimed.

"This brings back the good old days, right Shikamaru?" Ino asked, smirking.

"Hm. You could say that," he agreed with a nod, then they started to prepare themselves when they were watching the Ten-Tails going to release a huge dark sphere out of its mouth to target their direction.

Though, all of the shinobi knew what it was to come before the storm hits.

Yet, they were not giving up because they all have a purpose.

And that purpose means everything to them...

* * *

_TO BE CONTINUED..._


	37. To Be Continued

p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="6a2fa7af7b6f8220041eef650020b000"Hey, guys! Thank you so much for reading this story! I'm absolutely grateful for writing so much content on every GaaSaku stories there is. Apparently, the next two will be the final ones that I will be publishing since it's almost at the very end. New stories will be posted soon after the GaaSaku Fanfiction world is finished. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="450e061369ba46821e148cd2810d1b8b"Next story is called "Gaara Sakura: Memories of the Blossom Heart," which will be posted on the beginning of May./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="a9bb97847a549d815908a026d7fa9543"Anyway, stay tuned for more updates! :)/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" /p 


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